What Lies Within
by The Script Machine
Summary: Looking back, I suppose I could've handled the situation a bit differently, or I could've handled it a lot differently. But I was young, and I admit I was a bit foolish. But I certainly wasn't naive or daft, I knew exactly what I was doing. I just didn't know how it would end. (Tom RiddlexOC. Rated T for mild content. Harry Potter property of J.K. Rowling.)
1. Prologue

**09/25/2013 EDIT: This prologue has been rewritten. If you are just starting to read this story now, ignore this message. If you a returning reader, read this prologue again.**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

Looking back, I suppose I could've handled the situation a bit differently, or I could've handled it a lot differently.

But I was young, and I admit I was a bit foolish. But I certainly wasn't naive or daft; I knew exactly what I was doing. I just didn't know how it would end.

What I did was, well, idiotic, and to this day I regret every single moment of it. I knew I was taking a risk when I decided to do it, against my better judgement if I might add, but I didn't think it, never in a million years, that it would end the way it did. I understood what dangerous game I had signed up to play, and I never meant to get too far deep, only just deep enough. But I was stupid, and after so many years, I let my guard down. I let myself down.

I realize I'm probably being a bit vague. After all, in order for you to understand my story, you have to know my story from beginning to end.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we? I come from, what some would call, a 'perfect and privileged' family. My father had a very high ranking job in the Ministry of Magic, and he came from one of the purest bloodlines in the wizarding world. Furthermore, my mother was a very wealthy heiress, coming from a long line of pure-bloods herself. Both of their families were long lines of Slytherins, which rang true to me and my siblings as well.

We were, and still are, known all over Britain as one of the 'purest and wealthiest families in the entire wizarding world.'

Despite our wealth, my mother enforced a modest living. We didn't live in a huge mansion; she didn't see the point of a five person family living in a hundred room manor. If we had good quality clothes from a year before that still fit us, we'd have to wear them. My siblings and I still had to help out around the house in order to get allowance; my mother refused to get house-elves so we were stuck with many of the chores like dishes and laundry. We had to save our allowances to buy what we wanted, even though our family vault at Gringotts had millions and whatever we wanted wouldn't have even put a dent in our fortune.

You'd think with such a smart mother I wouldn't make such a horrible mistake.

While my mother preached modesty and frugality, my father preached ambition and success. He pushed us to do our very best in school, and whatever we we're doing really. He inadvertently put pressure on my siblings and I, but at the same time we wanted to be where we are today, and we wouldn't have gotten there without his constant reminder that if we never did our best, we'd never accomplish anything.

He was smart too. It makes me wonder how I did what I did.

Because of him, we did achieve our dreams. In school, my brother was top of his class and became Quidditch Captain, later becoming a seeker for the Montrose Magpies. My sister got the top grades out of all the students in her year and became a prefect when she made it to her fifth year, later becoming a talented Auror. What about me? Well, I had some of the top grades in the entire school, became a prefect my fifth year and later went on to become Head Girl in my seventh, and I considered myself very lucky when I graduated from school and took my father's place in the Ministry of Magic when he decided to retire.

To anyone we'd seem like the perfect wizarding family.

But we were never perfect; we had our issues, we had our flaws. We had our mistakes.

We all had flaws, everyone does. My mother was quite strict; my father was always away for work; my brother got involved in things that didn't concern him; my sister was quite pushy and naive; and I, no matter how hard I tried to deny it, had anger issues and was much too dramatic and pessimistic. There were more flaws, of course, but to name them all would take away the point of this story.

The point of this story is the mistake I made.

I learned quite a bit from this mistake, though I wish I had learned it earlier, maybe then I wouldn't have made the mistake in the first place. I had tried for so many years to be perfect, to never make a single mistake. That was my downfall, I suppose; convincing myself that what I was doing wasn't a mistake, when it was one of the worst of my life. At first everything was going accordingly to my plan, but then everything changed and then everything quickly fell apart. Bonds were broken, trust was shattered, and my life was nearly in ruins.

I had always told myself not to do it, and I had every single reason not to. But I did. I thought I was helping, I thought that if I did what I did it would make okay.

But it wasn't okay; he was never okay.

He was cunning. He was manipulative. He was corrupt.

He was Tom Riddle.

* * *

**Hey guys, thanks for clicking on my story! This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction so it would be awesome if you could give me some input, but be nice if you have any complaints, please.**

**I know I haven't given you much to determine whether this is a good story or not, but I hope I've sparked your curiosity enough for you to keep reading and tell me how I'm doing.**

**Alright, thanks!**


	2. Chapter One

**I was gonna wait a week to update this because I honestly didn't think I'd get the small, but wonderful, response that I did so quickly. Most of you have probably come here because I did a little advertising on Addicted to Love, but that doesn't matter. It's a response and I'm taking it.**

**PS. This chapter (I hope) will be better than the prologue, but if not...Well, I'll cross the bridge when I get to it. Keep in mind that I've never written for Harry Potter before and I've never written from a first-person perspective so this is all very new to me.**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"Valerie, would you hurry up?" My younger sister Emily whines.

I roll my eyes as my hand ghosts over the bookshelves, searching for the right title. "Patience is a virtue." She lets out an irritated sigh, and I turn my head to look at her. "I would've thought that a fourteen year-old girl would have more patience when shopping."

Emily and I are what some like to call 'polar opposites.' People always say that I have an intelligent, womanly, and dignified air about me, and that it shows in my appearance, whereas they say that Emily has a charming, innocent, and kind look about her. They always say it's because I'm two years older than her, but I still don't fully understand the whole 'air' concept. It's ridiculous if you ask me. Anyway, our 'airs' are only one of the differences; it's my green eyes against her blue, my narrow face against her round, and my narrow nose against her button nose.

"This is different; its book shopping, it's boring," She replies.

Of course, there's another difference; I'm patient, and she unfortunately isn't.

"You could've gone with David then," I sigh, pulling out a book and reading the cover.

"And watch him and Marie snog the living daylights out of each other? _Yuck_."

I sigh and put the book in the basket that hangs on my arm and I turn to her. "Well then at least try to put a lid on your complaining; we've still got two more stops."

"Since when do you have to treat me like a child?"

"Since you decided to act like one."

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Are you done yet?"

"Nearly," I reply. "I just need to find..._Ah ha!_ Here it is!"

"Great! What next?" She asks eagerly, looking over my shoulder as I pull my shopping list out of my pocket.

"Robes, ink and quills, and then we're done!" I say, walking through the rows of bookshelves towards the counter, Emily trailing quickly behind me.

"Wait," She says. "I think I'm gonna buy this for the train to Hogwarts!" I turn around and she holds a book up towards me, and I shrug as I grab it from her.

"Alright," I say, still walking to the counter as I watch her. "Just make sure you have enough galleons to-" I am cut off by feeling myself collide with someone and dropping Emily's new book. For a moment, I'm sure I'm going to fall, but two strong hands catch me before I can and steadies me onto my feet. I am about to thank the person, but when I look up all the gratitude is quickly drained from me, for the person who caught me is none other than Tom Riddle.

"_Yarrow_," He says in a bored tone. "A bit clumsy today, are we?"

I scowl and yank my arms away from him, straightening my coat. "I don't believe that's any of your business, _Riddle_."

He clenches his jaw at me.

Tom and I have never exactly liked each other; to be perfectly honest with you we despise each other. He and I are always butting heads at school and during prefect meetings, and for the life of us we can never get along. We are constantly battling to get the top grades in the school; there are times when I beat him, and there are times when he beats me. No one believes me when I say he's no good, they think I'm just jealous, and that infuriates me.

He bends down and picks up Emily's book, inspecting the cover and raising an eyebrow at me.

"A romance novel?" He asks, almost amused. "I must admit, I never imagined you as the type of girl to read a story about _love_."

"It's not mine," I hiss, snatching the book away from him. I hear Emily walk up behind me, but I don't take my eyes off Tom.

His eye flicker to her and he holds the book out to her. "It's yours then, I imagine?"

She nods quickly and takes the book from his hand. "Thank you."

He only nods to her before turning to me. "I'd watch where I was going next time if I were you, Yarrow. I would hate to see you hurt yourself."

I purse my lips and bite my tongue, something I do whenever I'm angry.

_Charm,_ he always uses it. That's why many of the professors at school like him better than me, not by much though, only a little.

"Well, I wouldn't have to watch where I was going if there weren't so many gits to bump into," I say, and I quickly grab Emily's wrist and drag her to the counter before he can say anything else.

"You didn't have to be so rude," Emily says as I angrily place the books on the counter.

"I have no respect for that boy," I say. "I'm not afraid to be rude to him."

"I don't see what's wrong with him," She says, and I turn my head slightly and narrow my eyes towards her. "Well, he wasn't rude to you!" She protests, handing me her book.

I nearly slam the book down onto the counter. "It's all an act, Emily! He's hiding something, I know it, and it's something I don't want to be a part of."

She sighs. "Well, whether he's hiding something or not, you had no right to say that to him."

I roll my eyes as I take galleons out of my purse and hand them to the cashier, who hands me our purchases in exchange. In the corner of my eye, I see someone place a stack of books onto the counter and my eyes trail up from the pale hand until they reach the person's face. I frown.

"Still here, Yarrow?" Tom asks, shoving his hands into his pockets as the cashier bags his books. "After a remark like that, I would imagine you wanting to leave as soon as possible."

"We were just leaving," I say, crossing my arms.

I'm normally polite, I'm normally proper. But I can never, never for the life of me, muster up any civility when I see Tom. There's just something about him that infuriates me, and it always has. Perhaps it's because he has a few higher grades than I do, or perhaps it's because I see through his little act of charm and courtesy.

_The second option, as always._

He ignores me as he pays for his books, taking the bag from the cashier. He walks towards the door to the shop without another word.

"Have a good day, Tom," Emily says politely, and I shoot her a sharp look.

He stops just outside the door and turns his head to her. "And to you as well, Emily," He says, nodding to her. "Enjoy your book." He turns his gaze to me and it hardens. "Yarrow."

I clench my jaw in reply and he only smirks, walking out of the shop.

"What was that?" I ask, turning to Emily.

"I was only trying to make up for your rudeness," She says. Her cheeks are slightly red, and she has a small smile on her face as she looks towards the door.

My eyebrows furrow. "What are you smiling about?"

She quickly glances at me as she walks towards the door. "Oh, nothing. Now, come on, we have robes to buy, don't we?"

* * *

"I thought you knew better than to be rude to people, Valerie," My father says sternly, cutting into his food. The way he looks at me tells me I've done something wrong; his green eyes have a hint of disappointment in them and his narrow face is solemn.

"And I thought Emily wasn't such a tattletale, but I guess we were both wrong," I reply, shooting Emily a look.

I should've expected this of her; she's very bright but has a tendency to speak about certain things you don't want her to, especially in front of our parents.

"Well, from what Emily tells us, your rudeness to that Tom Riddle boy was uncalled for. I expect you to apologize next time you see him." My mother says, her blue eyes looking at me seriously.

I sigh, sending Emily a glare. "Fine."

She sends me an unreadable look as she finishes what's left of her dinner and pushes her plate away from her. My mother and father chat as they finish their dinner, and before long it's only my brother and I who are left at the table.

"You two are always the last ones at the table," My mother says before she leaves the dining room. "Can I expect you two to clean up?"

We nod and she smiles. "Good."

I sigh as she leaves the room, standing up and taking my plate. I circle the table, grabbing my family's plates, cups, and cutlery as I walk by and stacking them on top of one another. My brother watches me as I do this, not saying a word as he finishes his meal.

"You seem upset," He says after he's done eating, and I take his plate as I walk by.

David looks like a male version of me; brown hair, green eyes, and a narrow face and nose. He's a year older than me, but people often mistake us as fraternal twins. It used to irritate us both greatly, especially when I started my first year at Hogwarts when he was in his second. But now we've gotten used to it, and most of the people at Hogwarts, aside from a few first years, don't identify us as twins anymore.

"Of course I'm upset," I say as walk out of the dining room and into the kitchen. "Emily always says what's on her mind, and now it's finally led to me having to apologize to _Tom Riddle._"

He sighs as I stand in front of the kitchen sink, watching it slowly fill with warm water from the faucet. As I fill pour some soap into the sink, I hear him walk into the kitchen and in the corner of my eye I see him step beside me.

I hand him a kitchen towel without taking my eyes off the water. "I wash; you dry."

He takes the towel from me and I take a cloth from the small, neatly folded pile that sits by the windowsill. I dip it into the water and pick up a plate, dipping it into the water and scrubbing the remains of my mother's meal off of it.

"So what exactly happened with Riddle today, anyway?" My brother asks as I hand him the now clean plate.

I sigh as I start another plate. "Emily and I were at Flourish and Blotts getting our books when I bumped into him and he said I was clumsy."

He snorts. "That's what you were upset about? He's only stating a fact."

"That's irrelevant, David!" I snap, handing him another plate. "There's a point to this, and it's that he's a git and somehow no seems to think so!"

He sighs. "What else happened? It usually takes a lot for you to call somebody a git."

"Well, I guess nothing happened after that..." I admit. "But he still irritates me with whatever he does. His charm is all an act; I'm smart enough to see that!"

David is silent for a moment. "If it makes you feel any better, I agree with you."

I dart my head to look at him. "You do?"

He nods, wiping a plate dry. "Yes. He just seems a bit too shady to me. It's surprising he's a prefect, especially since Professor Dumbledore doesn't seem to trust him that much."

I chuckle dryly. "Well, you know how much Headmaster Dippet and Professor Slughorn like him. That's probably the only reason."

"There's that," He agrees, tilting his head. "There's also the fact he's beating you in Potions _and_ Defense Against the Dark Arts."

I bring my hand up and flick some water his way. "He's not beating me by _that_ much," I protest. "I still have the second highest grade in those classes and I am determined to beat him in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year!"

"What about Potions?"

"Oh please, you know how much Slughorn favours Riddle. I could be the best Potion's master in the entire wizarding world and I'd still get a lower grade than him."

"Well, if you want to get ahead in Potions, try flattery. Worked for me."

"But you're not in the same year as Riddle, I am! And do you really think I'd kiss Slughorn's butt just so I can get to the top?"

"It's just a suggestion; don't have to be such a smart-ass about it."

"I'm not being a smart-ass!"

"Actually, Val, you are."

I roll my eyes as I hand him a cup to dry. "Whatever. It doesn't matter how many times I say Riddle's hiding something, people don't believe me."

"Excuse me; didn't I just say I believed you?" David asks in mock hurt.

I hit him in the stomach. "I'm not talking about you! I'm talking about Emily!"

"Emily?" He says, raising an eyebrow. "Emily is, well, it doesn't matter, you know she's naive."

"_Shh_," I hiss. "You know she doesn't like to be called that!"

"Oh please, don't act like I'm the only one thinking it." He says.

"I know you're not the only one," I say, and I turn my head to look at the doorway. "I know she's a bit naive too, but you know how upset she gets." I whisper. "Just keep your mouth shut about it."

He sighs. "You know, just because she's the youngest doesn't mean you have to go easy on her."

"You know, just because you're the oldest doesn't mean to have to be the boss," I mock.

He rolls his eyes. "You don't _have_ to apologize to Riddle, you know," He says, putting down the towel as he finishes drying the last dish. "It's not like you have to see him for that much longer. You only have to live through this year and next year and then you'll never have to think about him again."

I sigh. "I don't think I can make it through two years."

* * *

"I still don't see why you're so upset I told them," Emily says, watching as I pack my trunk.

"I'm upset because it wasn't any of mum and dad's business," I say, folding a skirt.

"Well, you _were_ rude, Valerie," She says. "And you really had no reason to be."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this, Emily?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her. "Since when do you care what I do?"

She shrugs. "I just didn't think that you had to be so coarse."

"You know what? Fine, Emily," I say, getting irritated. "If you want me to apologize to Riddle _so_ badly, then I will."

"You will?"

"If it gets you to stop talking about it."

She sighs. "Valerie?"

"Yes?"

"Remember that boyfriend you had last year?"

I grimace. "_Yes_, Abraxas Malfoy. Why must you remind me of him?"

She shrugs "I was just wondering...What was it like to have a boyfriend?"

"Why, you don't fancy Malfoy, do you?"

"Oh, god no!" She says, horrified. "I was just wondering what it was like to have a boyfriend. Not _him_ as a boyfriend."

"Well," I say, placing a newly folded dress into my trunk. "Malfoy has been my only boyfriend so far, and as you know it didn't end well. Anyway, I don't want to talk about it. The thought that I even dated him makes me gag."

She sighs. "Are you excited for this year?" She asks, changing the subject.

"I am," I say, still folding my clothes. "Except for the fact that I have to see Riddle, I'll never be excited about that."

"Why do you hate him so much? I mean, when you really get right down to it he hasn't done anything to you."

"There's a reason for everything I do, Emily, and I hate him for a very good reason."

"Which is?"

"He's such a snake!" I say. "He uses charm and manipulation to get what he wants, it's so obvious!"

"I've never looked at it that way."

"That's because he's manipulating you too," I say, looking at her. "His charm, his politeness, it's all an act! I don't know what goes on in his head, but if he has to put up such a convincing act to cover it all up then I know he's someone who can't be trusted."

"Well, maybe you're wrong about him," Emily says. "Maybe you're just upset that he gets higher grades than you in two classes and you're trying to find more reasons to hate an innocent person. Either that or you're paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid, and I'm not wrong about him! I can feel it in my gut that's something's off about him, and I don't want that involved in my life."

She shakes her head. "That's not what I think."

"Then that's not what you think," I shrug. "We all have opinions; one or two are bound to conflict."

There's silence after that, and a feel relief as I know the conversation is over.

But there's still one question:

Why is Emily so hung up on Tom Riddle?

* * *

**Oh my god, you guys don't know how hard Tom Riddle when he was a teenager is to write.  
**

**And that's not all, Valerie's difficult character too. I've created her to be the perfect student, and then I have to make up for her perfection in school by making flaws with her personality and choices. Wow, I've created quite the challenge for myself.  
**

**Anyways, review.**


	3. Chapter Two

**I've re-written the Prologue cause I reread it, and hated it. Yeah, not my best work at all and I won't settle for that. So yeah, you guys might wanna go back and read that again.**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"Do you have everything?" My mother asks, straightening my coat.

We stand in front of the Hogwarts Express at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. The chattering of parents and Hogwarts students alike fill my ears, and I look around at the large crowd of people. I spot some first years chattering excitedly about Hogwarts, though the more I look around the more I see even the returning Hogwarts students excited for the New Year. I'll admit, I'm excited too. This will be my second year as a Slytherin prefect, and it will be my job to escort the first year Slytherins to the Common Room and Dormitories. I hoping I'll get promoted to Head Girl next year, and that's all I'll be shooting for this year.

"Yes," I reply with a nod.

"As always," Emily teases, and I roll my eyes.

"Well, as long as you're sure," My mother says.

"Mum, this is my sixth time doing this," I begin.

"My seventh!" David cuts in.

"I know what I'm doing, don't worry." I finish, sending David a look.

"Relax, Margret," My father says, putting a hand on my mother's shoulder. "They'll be fine."

My mother smiles and puts her hand on his. "I know."

I smile at her. "We'll be okay, mum. We always are."

She smiles back and nods as she pulls me in for a hug. "Be safe," She says, going to hug Emily and then David.

"We will, mum," Emily promises.

Just then I see someone walk past us, and I immediately frown.

It's Tom.

Emily notices him too, and she grabs my arm and points towards him.

"Valerie," She says. "You said that you'd apologize to Tom. Now's your chance."

_You little..._I can't even finish the thought as I let my eyes follow Tom as he boards the train.

"He seems busy," I say through gritted teeth.

Of course Emily had to bring that up _now_, when our parents are in direct earshot. I'm opting not to look like I think _that_ rudely of Tom in front of them, but I feel my blood boiling at the mere sight of him and I know I'm failing. I don't even have to look at my mother; I can already imagine her pursing her lips at me in disappointment. Of course, Tom ruins my life at school, and now he's ruing my life at home. How is it that one boy, one _seemingly_ charming boy, can infuriate me so much? I fear I'll never know the answer. Then again, do I even want to?

"Oh please, he can't be _that_ busy," Emily says. "You can apologize to him."

"She's right, Valerie," My mother says sternly, crossing her arms.

I sigh. "Fine," I say coldly. If I don't agree, I know that there will be hell to pay later.

"Great, let's see if we can't catch up with him," Emily says, and she turns her head to look at David. "Are you coming?" She asks him.

He looks at me knowingly, and my eyes silently plead for him to come with us. I can't apologize without someone to vent to afterwards.

"Sure," He says, and he gives my mother a hug before following me and Emily, who holds my arm in a surprisingly tight grip as she drags me onto the train.

I hear my mother and father chuckle as we leave. "Goodbye! Don't forget to write!" They call to us, waving.

"Goodbye!" We call back, and within seconds they are replaced in my vision by the walls of the train.

"Okay," Emily mutters looking around at the crowd of chattering students leaning on the walls. "Let's see if we can't find him."

As she pulls me through the train, David following close behind, I rehearse my apology to Tom. I can't come up with anything. I know a simple 'sorry' won't be enough, it would be more than enough for me, but Emily is an entirely different story apparently. _Sorry about what happened at Diagon Alley, Tom. _No, still not good enough. _I'm really sorry about what happened last time we saw each other, Tom. _Damn, this is harder than I thought it would be. _I would like to apologize for my rudeness the other day, Tom. _Oh, for Merlin's sake! Is it too late for me to be killed?

"Ah, there he is," Emily says, pointing to a compartment as she stops.

Yes, it is.

She pulls the compartment door and it slides open effortlessly. "Excuse me, Tom?"

He darts his head from his group of friends, I call them minions, and looks at her. His eyes flicker to me and within an instant his gaze hardens. I glare back at him. Suddenly, I don't care if Emily goes on about it for the rest of my life. I'm _not_ apologizing to _him_.

"Yes, Emily?" He asks her and he stands up from his seat, his prefect badge glistening in the light.

"I, uh, um," She sputters and my eyebrows furrow. What's the matter with her? "Um, Valerie, has something she, uh, wants to tell you."

_Don't do it._

I let out a sigh as I step in front of Emily.

_Walk away._

I'm standing right in front of Tom now, his height towering over me.

_Walk away right now, Valerie! _

But I can't walk away now, I'm stuck.

I bite my tongue as I look at Tom and he raises an eyebrow at me with a small smirk. I can see it in his eyes, he's mocking me. He knows just as well as I do that I have no way to get out of this. He's basking in the fact that I'm being forced to apologize to him, by my little sister of all people! It makes me hate him even more and I clench my fist at my side, tempted to collide it with his nose I'm so livid.

"Tom," I say through gritted teeth, managing something that looks and feels like a smile. "I'm sorry for being so rude to you that day at Diagon Alley." Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I swear this is killing me. "It was uncalled for and I'm sorry for it." He's still got a smirk on his face, and I desperately want to slap it off.

I beg Merlin that that was enough of an apology, anymore and I'm sure I'll explode.

"Of course," Tom says, tilting his head. "No hard feelings."

I don't say anything. I only turn on my heel and push myself through Emily and David to get out of the compartment as quickly as possible. My dignity's been shattered, and I'm furious. I'm furious with Tom for me apologizing to him, and I'm furious with Emily for making me apologize to him. I can feel my blood boiling and I can imagine steam coming from my ears. I glare at the floor as I storm away from Tom's compartment.

"Oh, _come on_," Emily says as she catches up with me. "It wasn't _that_ bad, was it?"

"Kill me," I sneer and I rip open the door to an empty compartment.

Emily rolls her eyes. "You're so dramatic, Valerie. It's just an apology."

I narrow my eyes towards David, who stands behind Emily. "David," I say to him. "Can I speak to you in _private_, please?"

"Ooh, she's wants to talk to David in private," Emily says mockingly. "Looks like I'm in _big_ trouble."

I bite my tongue. "David..."

He sighs. "Don't poke the bear, Em,"

She sighs. "Fine, I have to go find Madeline and Jane anyway." She waves at us before walking further down the train.

I wait until she's out of earshot before I grab David's arm and push him into the compartment, slamming the door behind us.

"Val," He says, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Calm down."

"No, I'm not going to calm down!" I exclaim, shrugging his hands off me. "I_ actually_ apologized to him! He's never gonna let me live this down!"

"Relax, Val, it's not that bad!"

"How can you say that? I just did the one thing I promised myself I'd never do no matter what!"

"Yes, which means you'll never have to do it again!"

"What do you mean?"

He sighs. "I thought I was being obvious, but apparently...No, you know what never mind. I'm just saying that you don't have to do anything like that again, and you can go through this year avoiding him. There's nothing that's going to force you to see him."

"Yes, except prefect meetings, classes, the Common Room-"

"You're so pessimistic," He sighs, cutting me off.

I let out an irritated sigh. "Well, I'm sorry. I'm just _really_ upset that I had to apologize to him."

"I think you're overreacting," He says.

"I'm not overreacting!"

"You are! Listen, Val, I don't like the guy either, but it was one apology and if he tries to give you a hard time about it I'll take care of him."

I let out a small breathless laugh and shake my head. "You're still taking on the 'protective older brother' role, are you?"

He smiles at me. "You're my little sister, of course I am."

I sigh. "I'm still insanely upset about this."

"I know," He says. "Valerie, just go find your friends and try to calm down. Things aren't as bad as you think they are."

I let out another sigh. "Okay."

* * *

"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat calls out, and my table cheers for the little brown haired girl who runs towards us.

"A lot of Slytherins this year," My friend Elizabeth says, leaning over the table so I can hear her Scottish accent over the cheering. Elizabeth and I have known each other since first year, and she hasn't changed that much. Her hair's still a fiery red, her eyes are still a stormy grey, and her fair face is still lightly freckled. The only thing that's really changed is her height, which is now about two and a half feet taller than the first day I met her.

I chuckle and nod. "Yes, more work for me!"

She laughs along with our friend Serene, who flips her long brown hair over her shoulder. I met Serene the same time I met Elizabeth, but unlike Elizabeth, Serene has changed appearance over the course of just six years. Her hair has gotten longer, she's tan from her annual summer trips to Italy, and her face isn't as round as it was when I first met her.

These are my friends, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

"Are you still aiming to be Head Girl next year?" Serene asks.

I nod. "Yeah."

"Ooh, better not say that in front of that Ravenclaw Genevieve," Elizabeth jokes. "She'll rip you apart."

I laugh. "I'm not afraid of Genevieve DelMarker."

"Why would you be?" Serene says, smiling. "She's just a mudblood."

I don't comment, I only nod and turn my attention to the Hufflepuff girl that just got sorted. I'm not a fan of insulting the Muggle-borns, neither is anyone in my family really. But instead of scolding people for their attitudes towards those who are 'pure,' we just stay silent and ignore it. It's worked so far, and I'm happy it has.

"Are you still upset that you had to apologize to Tom Riddle?" Elizabeth asks, breaking me out of the Sorting Ceremony.

"Yes," I say bitterly, trying to forget the memory.

Serene shrugs. "He's not that bad, Val. He's actually fairly good looking."

I gag. "Really? I don't see it."

"Well, that's because you hate him," She says. "I did the same thing; I hate Abraxas Malfoy and think he's anything but attractive, yet you dated him so..."

"In my defense I don't think he's that attractive either anymore," I say.

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever."

"Well, just try to forget about Riddle," Elizabeth says to me. "He makes you too upset and you won't get anything done if you're angry."

I sigh. "You're right."

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask. Can you help me with Transfiguration? My grade last year was _not_ my best work and my mum's on my tail to raise it," Serene says to me, and I nod.

"Sure, no problem."

"Thank you. It's so nice having a smart friend."

"Hey! I'm smart too!" Elizabeth says, hitting Serene playfully in the shoulder.

"In Charms, Liz. Your Transfiguration grade is no better than mine."

We all burst into laughter.

"Oi!" We hear a male voice yell, and we turn our head towards the. "Keep it down, would you? Some of us are trying to have a conversation!" It's Avery, one of Tom's little minions. I see Tom catch my gaze and he scowls at me, and I scowl back.

"Prat..." I mutter, turning away from Avery.

"Avery's always a prat," Elizabeth says, turning to me as Serene sticks her tongue out at Avery.

"I'm not talking about Avery," I reply.

Serene sighs. "Just let the whole Tom thing go, alright? It takes up too much of your hatred that should really be directed towards Headmaster Dippet because he hasn't started the feast yet and I'm starving."

I roll my eyes. "You and your food."

* * *

"Alright, girls," I say, turning towards the small crowd of first year Slytherin girls behind me. "Your dorms are on the right. You should find your names on the doors and your trunks should be inside, if not, come and see me. I'll be in the Common Room for the next few hours."

They all nod and excitedly pass me to find their rooms, and I chuckle, remembering my first year. The thought of being somewhere new and learning new things is always exciting to me, and it's even more exciting to see new students just as excited as well. It's still surreal to me that I only have to make it through this year and next year before I graduate, and then I'll go onto new things. Anything new, anything that presents the slightest bit of the unknown is somehow exciting to me, and it's not uncommon that I find myself wondering what the next year will bring me, and how it will change me.

I turn around and suddenly find myself colliding with a someone else. I scowl as soon as I see the prefect badge pinned onto their robes.

I immediately step back. "_Riddle_."

"Still upset about your apology to me, Yarrow?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you want?" I ask harshly, eying him up and down.

"I'm simply seeing how my fellow prefect's duties are going tonight," He says innocently. "Splendidly, I hope."

My eyes scan the Common Room, there's no one except me and Tom at the moment.

"Look around you, Riddle," I say, crossing my arms. "There's no one here. You can drop the little act of being friendly to me because I'm not buying it. I know you hate me just as much as I hate you."

He clenches his jaw as he looks down at me. "You're the only one in this entire school who doesn't trust me."

"Oh, trust me I'm not the only one. You're not as clever and charming as you think you are."

"Then why does no one believe you when you say I'm up to something? Oh, don't look so surprised. You don't think I can't hear you talking to your friends about me?"

"And what are you doing listening to my conversations, Riddle?"

"Oh, I was merely curious as to what my fellow Slytherin prefect had to say about me."

I shake my head angrily and step back from him. "_Never_ listen to my conversations again! They don't concern you!"

"Why are you so defensive, Yarrow? Do you have something _you_ wish to hide?" He asks.

My jaw drops to the floor. I feel rage coursing through my veins and my gaze hardens on him. "Don't you even try any of that! Don't even try to make me sound paranoid!"

"It looks as though you already are."

I grit my teeth. "Just _stay away_ from me."

I walk past him as quickly as possible and race towards my dorm. I'm livid, and I'm sure that if I could, I'd burst into flames. It takes me awhile to find my name on the door to my room, but when I do a slam the door open and close so hard that Elizabeth and Serene jump about ten feet.

"What's your bloody problem?" Serene exclaims.

"I don't want to talk about it," I hiss. "Which bed is mine?"

Elizabeth points towards the bed opposite of hers and I storm towards it, throwing myself onto the mattress. People probably think I'm overreacting, or that I'm really paranoid. But I'm not, I know something's up. I just can put my finger on it. I think that most of the reason I hate Tom is because he's convinced the whole school that I'm mad for thinking he's up to something. He's convinced the entire school that he's a charming, innocent young man and I'm the envious, crazy girl who hates him for no reason. I'm not crazy, I know I'm not and he knows it too.

I would do anything for proof, but my only proof won't admit it.

And he never will.

* * *

**Reviews would be really great.**


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"Be careful on how much you pour in, Liz!" I warn Elizabeth as she attempts to brew her potion.

"Oh, mind your own business, Val," She says, rolling her eyes at me.

"I finished my business," I say, waving my potion phial in front of her.

She lets out an irritated sigh as she eyes the phial. "Damn you, Valerie, damn you."

"Now, now, Miss Langdon," Professor Slughorn comes behind me and chuckles. "Let's not use that sort of language in the classroom."

"Sorry, Professor," Elizabeth apologizes, quickly sending me a look.

"Right then," He nods. "Miss Yarrow, I believe I heard you say you finished your potion."

"Oh, yes," I say, handing him the phial.

"Splendid!" He says, a smile on his face. "It seems you're finished before Tom, Miss Yarrow. Trying to get ahead, eh?"

I glance over towards Tom's direction and see him carefully stirring his cauldron in deep concentration, his eyes locked onto his work. I smile. He doesn't realize that I've finished before him; he doesn't realize that he isn't first this time. That's one point for me. Now, if my potion gets a better grade than his, I get another point, and I can consider myself temporarily victorious. I can't help but feel a bit giddy. _I finished before him._

"Something like that," I say, turning my gaze back to Slughorn.

"Well, it's always good to get ahead, now isn't it?" He says, still smiling. "I suppose I'll see you at my annual new school year party tomorrow night, hmm?"

"Oh yes, of course," I say. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Right then, cheerio!"

I send him a friendly smile and a small wave as he walks away before turning my head to Elizabeth with a victorious look.

"Oh, wipe that smug look off your face, Yarrow," She says jokingly.

I roll my eyes. "_I finished first,_" I mouth.

"Quick, somebody alert the Daily Prophet!" She whispers sarcastically.

I let out a small chuckle and roll my eyes.

Everybody loves to win, but I'm certain I love it just a bit more than everyone else. What can I say? I'm competitive.

"So do you know what dress you're going to wear to this Slug Club party you're going to?" Elizabeth asks, not looking up from her cauldron.

"No, not yet," I say. "I'll probably just wear my simple black dress."

"Oh no, not that old thing," She says. "Wear something else, like that cream coloured dress, or that nice rose coloured one."

I laugh. "Since when do you care about what I wear to a party you aren't even going to?"

"Since you get sent a dress every year from your French cousin for Christmas and I never get to see you in any of them."

I sign. "Fine, you win," I raise my hands in defeat. "I'll wear whatever dress you want me to."

"Perfect," She says. "Oh my god, Val. I don't know how you finished your potion so fast because I can't even-"

"Why, I say, Tom," We hear Slughorn say, and we turn our heads to look at him. "This has to be one of the most finely crafted potions I've seen for many years! Come now everyone; let's give Tom a round of applause, shall we?"

I let out a small groan as I let my head fall onto the table, the sound of clapping soon filling my ears.

"Great."

* * *

I sit in my seat at the library in disgust as I watch David passionately kiss his girlfriend Marie goodbye.

Emily was right, this is..._Yuck_.

As the two pull away from each other, David whispers something in Marie's ear and she giggles before kissing him again. Don't get me wrong, I like Marie, I really do. She's much nicer than the other girls David has dated, and she's quite smart too. The only thing I'm not particularly fond of is that she and David seem addicted to sucking each other's face. It's gross to see people in an extremely heated kissing session in the first place, it's even worse when it's your brother and his girlfriend.

They're still kissing. Merlin, I want to look away but for the life of me I can't.

They finally pull away from each other and exchange quick goodbyes before David turns and walks towards me.

"What's the matter with you?" He asks, no doubt noticing my grimace.

"That was the most revolting thing I have ever seen in my life," I say as he sits down beside me.

"What about that time you walked in on mum and dad trying for a fourth child?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shudder. "Okay, _second_ most revolting thing I have ever seen in my life."

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Next time I'll make sure we go for longer just to tick you off."

I let out a sigh. "Let's just get to studying." Despite being a year ahead of me, David still comes to the library and studies with me. It's amazing how close we are.

"So, a little birdie told me you were _this_ close to getting a higher grade than Riddle for your first potion assignment," He says, making a space between his fingers as he pulls out a book.

I scowl. "And what little birdie was this?"

"Ooh, can't say, sworn to secrecy," He says, winking at me.

I think about it for a moment. "It was that toad Keller who follows you around, wasn't it?"

He snaps and points to me as he nods. "And he's not a toad, if anything he's a rat. But he's useful for getting information about you and Emily, plus he's a wicked Beater."

"I don't care about his Quidditch skills, David," I say. "What I care about is that he's telling you things that really aren't any of your-"

He holds up a hand and stops me as Emily and her friends walk by whispering and giggling. Normally we'd both ignore this, as they are going to study, but now David seems like he's straining to listen to their hushed conversation. He's always doing this; he's always getting involved with things that don't concern him. I don't really care about what Emily is whispering about with her friends. I whisper with my friends, it's just something girls do.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" He asks me in a whisper.

"No, I can't," I whisper back. "Why do you even care?"

He narrows his eyes towards me. "You're not the only one in the family who can notice when something's off."

"David, they're just having a bit of fun. Trust me, I would know if something's off with my little sister."

"Or maybe you wouldn't because you spend your brain capacity on trying to beat Riddle."

I scowl and let out an irritated breath as I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms. He infuriates me sometimes.

"Go talk to her," David whispers, staring at Emily and her friends.

I let out another irritated sigh and uncross my arms. "Why do I have to talk to her? Why can't you?"

He looks at me and raises an eyebrow. "Do you really think she's going to tell her older brother about a secret conversation among her friends?"

I sigh. "Point taken." I don't know why, but I stand up from my chair and walk towards Emily. I can feel David's eyes burning holes into the back of my head.

I finally make my way to Emily's chair and I lightly tap her on her shoulder.

She turns her head and looks at me. "Yes, Valerie?"

Damn, I have no idea what to say. I probably should've thought this through. "I just came to see how you were," I say, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her. "So, what are you girls up to?"

Their quick and subtle glances don't go unnoticed by me.

"Just studying," Emily's friend Madeline says, and my eyes shoot to hers. She looks at me innocently with her hazel eyes, and she runs her hand through her auburn coloured hair.

"Oh? What at are you studying?" I ask.

"History of Magic," Emily's blonde-haired friend, Jane, says.

"Ah, sounds fun," I say, smiling. "So..." I begin slowly. "Any good gossip in the Fourth Year dorms yet?"

"No, not really," Emily says.

"But the Sixth Year dorms must be loaded with it," Madeline chuckles quietly.

Great, now the conversation's going to revolve around me. I suck at trying to get information out of people. Maybe I should get my own Keller.

"Some," I say. "But we're only three days into the school year." I stand up. "Anyways, just thought I'd check in. I've got to get back to my own studying now. Bye!"

"Bye!" They say in unison.

I quickly turn around and walk back to my table, where David looks at me expectantly.

"Well? What did you get?" He asks.

"I didn't get anything, David," I say, sitting down. "They're just being girls. Let it go."

"Something's up, I can tell you that right now," He says.

I let out a light laugh. "Unless you're talking about Riddle, I'm going to have a hard time believing you."

* * *

"See? I told you that rose coloured dress would look good on you," Elizabeth says, sitting on her bed beside Serene.

"I have to agree with Liz," Serene says. "You look amazing."

I laugh. "Thank you."

"Okay, now try something else on."

"I can't," I say. "I have to go right now or I'll be late."

"Fine," Elizabeth says. "But next time you go to a party you're letting us see something else!"

"Will do," I laugh. "I'll be back in a few hours!"

"Have fun!" They say as I walk out of our room.

I walk down the hall towards the Common Room when a door suddenly opens in front of me and I slam into the person who walks out of it. I steady myself for a moment before I look at the person, and I find myself staring at a finely dressed Emily.

"Watch where you're going, clumsy!" She laughs.

"In my defense," I say. "You're the one who suddenly walked out of the room." I take more notice of Emily's attire. "Why are you all dolled up?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" She asks. "I was invited to Slughorn's party this year."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really? Wow, okay. Do you want to walk with me there?"

"Sure," She says, and she links my arm with hers. "Nice dress."

"I like yours too," I say as we walk, admiring the navy blue gown. "Cousin Cécile sent you that last Christmas, didn't she?"

"She did," She nods. "And she sent you yours last Christmas as well, right?"

"Right," I say as we walk out of the Common Room. "So how have your classes been going so far?"

"They're alright," She shrugs. "I just hope I can get high enough grades in all of them to become a Prefect next year."

"You want to take my place as a Prefect?" I say, raising my eyebrow. "Well, what if I don't get the Head Girl position?"

She scoffs. "_Please_, with your grades Dippet would be a fool not to appoint you."

I throw my head back and laugh. "That's why you're my sister."

She laughs. "Oh look, we're here!"

"Oh, excellent."

We open the doors and are greeted with the sight of Slughorn laughing along with his students, the norm for his parties. He looks up at us and smiles, quickly excusing himself and walking over to us.

"Girls, how wonderful it is to see you both! You both look lovely!" He says.

"Thank you, Professor," I say. "And thank you for inviting us to your party, it looks splendid."

"Oh, you're welcome! It's always nice to have my students here. Ah, Tom, my boy! So glad you could join us!"

A scowl immediately finds its way to my face, but I don't turn around to look at the newest party guest.

"Good evening, Professor," Tom says. "I've brought you this as a gift, do enjoy."

"Ah, splendid, Tom! My favourite, crystallized pineapple!" Slughorn exclaims.

"I know, Professor, that's why I've brought it for you as thanks for your invitation to this lovely party."

I grit my teeth.

_Such a damn charmer!_

"Yes, well, you're just in time for dinner!" Slughorn says, already opening the bag of pineapple.

Tom always comes to these parties, and he always manages to win Slughorn's favour even more every single time. It's driving me literally insane, and I want for nothing more than to leave this party. But I won't. As much as Tom's charm irritates me to no end, it prompts me to try my hand at winning Slughorn's favour for myself.

"Excellent. Let's sit down then, shall we?" A familiar voice says, and I jump in surprise.

It's now that I turn around, and I see David standing behind Tom. My eyebrows furrow. David never comes to these parties, even when he's invited. He's someone who attends these sort of things only when he has to. Why is he here now?

"Ah, David! How nice it is to see you again! It's so lovely you could join us!" Slughorn says, chuckling as he pats David on the back.

"What's David doing here?" Emily whispers in my ear.

"Your guess is as good as mine," I whisper back.

David's gaze turns to us and he excuses himself from Slughorn, who resumes his conversation with Tom as they walk to the table. David strides towards us and raises an eyebrow as he stops.

"You both look surprised."

"Of course we're surprised," I say. "You never come to Slughorn's parties."

"Or _any_ party for that matter," Emily adds.

"Well, it's a new year," He says, taking our arms and guiding us to the table. "Time to take up new habits."

As everyone sits down at the table, Emily manages to remove her arm out of David's grip and walk over to the other side of the table, sitting down beside Tom.

My stomach drops. Why is she sitting with _him_?

David notices this too, for he clears his throat as he pulls out a chair beside me. "Emily," He says. "Wouldn't you like to sit with us?"

She shakes her head. "I'm alright."

I resist every urge to stand up from my chair, storm over to her, and rip her out of her chair before dragging her back to mine. I want to. I really want to.

David's noticeably uncomfortable, but he sits down beside me without saying a word.

"I must say, David," Slughorn says. "Now that I have the both of you in the same place, I can see how much you look like Valerie here," He gestures to me and chuckles. "Seems as though the rumours are true!"

David nods and sends him a slight smile, but says nothing as he takes the first bite of his food.

My gaze wanders back to Emily, and I can't help but notice she seems a tad awkward as she bites into her food. Not that I blame her, I wouldn't be myself either if I was sitting beside Tom Riddle. David and I keep silent as dinner progresses on, always watching the friendly as always Emily like hawks as she talks among the other dinner guests. Every so often she steals a glance at us, only to quickly look down at her dinner plate or at a guest when she sees our cold, hard stares. She's never been comfortable when I stare at her, so I can't imagine how she feels when David joins in.

I don't know why David is so uptight about it; perhaps it's because he knows how uptight _I_ am about it. It makes me wonder. I make a mental note to ask him about his anger later. I wouldn't ask now though because I know conversation that will indefinitely become loud and heated and is most likely not appropriate to have in front of a small crowd of eight people that includes the girl in question:

Emily.

I take the last bites of my food before my dinner plate is taken away by a student Slughorn has appointed as a server. A dish of ice cream in placed in front of me, and I quickly take a bite to hind my scowl. I'm still fighting urges to rip Emily out of her seat. I don't want her sitting near Tom, I don't. Just as David is protective of both of us, I am protective over Emily. Sure, Tom hasn't really said anything to Emily for the entire night, but the protectiveness is still there.

My worst enemy and my little sister _don't_ mix.

At least not for me.

* * *

**Sorry it's taking so long to update. This is one of my biggest writing projects ever and I want to make sure it's perfect.**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"Well, considering what you've told me," Serene says, looking up at me from her letter writing. "I think you handled last night's party quite well."

"Oh?" I ask, playing with the end of my blanket.

"Well yes," She says. "I mean, you didn't flip out when Emily sat with Riddle, and you didn't confront her about it afterwards."

A scowl appears on my face and I bite my tongue as I realize something. I still don't know why Emily sat beside Riddle.

Serene notices my change in mood and she throws her head back as she lets out an exasperated sigh. "What have I done?"

"I'll be right back," I say, standing up from my bed.

"No, Val," She says. "Come on, it's not worth it and it's not like it's gonna happen again."

"And if it does?"

"You know, it's extraordinary how pessimistic you are."

"I'm not a pessimist!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up. First David, now Serene. Maybe I should revaluate my personality. "I'm being cautious of the future!"

"_Sure..._" She says, rolling her eyes. "Look, you can't really control her, can you? No, you can't. She's fourteen; she's bound to do irritating things that you really don't want her to. Just take a look at my sister! She's decided that she's going to find the perfect match for all her friends."

I snort. "What?"

"Yeah, I know, I don't get it either," Serene sighs. "Seems frightfully silly to me, most of her friends are relatively good-looking. If they can't get a boyfriend on their own, then there's something wrong with the male population of Hogwarts."

I laugh as I sit back down on my bed. "You really love to just speak your mind, don't you?"

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, and since I love to speak my mind, I have to say that it was odd that your brother actually showed up to that party."

"It was."

"Did you ask him why?"

"Not yet. He left too quickly after the party ended, and quite frankly I was too exhausted to chase after him. I do want to ask him about it later, though."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Serene replies.

"Why not?" I ask. "It won't do any harm."

"Maybe it won't, but I honestly think you're over-thinking the entire situation," She says, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"What's there to over-think?" I ask, shrugging. "I'm only going to ask why he showed up." She doesn't know that I'm not just planning to ask David about him coming to the party; I'm dying to know why he was more upset than I was about Emily sitting next to Tom. And then I have to ask Emily _why_ she was sitting next to Tom.

She sighs. "Fine, just don't explode."

"I won't. Look, I promise I'll handle it all calmly and rationally."

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Just two years ago when Riddle and you were both appointed as prefects, you said that you would work with him 'calmly and rationally' and what did you do that night?"

I look down at my feet. "I don't remember."

"Oh that's rubbish!" She says. "After your duties you came back to our dorm and complained for hours and hours on end. It was so bad that Liz and I were tempted to use a silencing charm on you."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever."

* * *

I walk into the Great Hall, and my eyes scour over the Slytherin table in search for David. _Where is he? Ah! There he is. _He's sitting with Marie, his arm draped over her shoulder, and he's talking with Keller who sits across from him. I can hear their laughter from here even over the loud chattering of the other students. I adjust my bag over my shoulder and quickly walk up behind him.

"David," I say, tapping his shoulder. "Can I speak with you for a minute?"

He turns his head to look at me. "I'm a bit busy right now, Val. Can it wait?"

"It'll only take a minute," I assure.

"Then the minute can happen some other time, alright?" He says.

I place a hand on my hip as I stare at him. "Please, David."

He sighs. "Is someone hurt?"

My eyebrows furrow. "No."

"Is someone in trouble?"

"No."

"Then it can wait."

I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh come on, David," Marie says, leaning her head on his shoulder. "She is your sister."

I smile as I cross my arms. Marie can always make David do what she wants, and sometimes what she wants benefits me.

He sighs. "Fine, Valerie. What do you want?"

"Why were you at Slughorn's party last night?" I ask. That's not really what I want to know. I'm curious about it, yes, but I'm more curious as to why he was upset about Emily. I have to get him away from the table to talk about it though; I have a feeling that the answer isn't something that others necessarily need to hear.

"See? That's going to take more than a minute," He says. "And since when do you mess around with other people's lives?"

"I just want to know why you were there!" I say, throwing my hands up. "You never go to _any_ party whatsoever."

"It's really none of your business, Valerie," He says.

"Now you know how we feel when you meddle in our lives," Keller snickers.

I raise my eyebrow at him. "You're one to talk. You're how he gets half his information about other people! You're just as much of a meddler as he is."

Marie and David laugh at my statement as Keller develops an unreadable look on his face.

"David," Marie says, quickly glancing at me before batting her eyelashes at him. "Why were you at Slughorn's party?"

He sighs. "As I said last night; new year, new habits."

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, there has to be more than that!"

"Valerie, we can talk about it later, okay? I'm busy."

"But I'm your sister!"

"So is Emily, but I don't give in to her demands either."

"Fine, I give up," I say. "When you want to talk about it let me know."

I turn around and walk away. I don't know why I feel upset that David won't tell me why he was at the party.

Maybe it's because I only really wanted to know why he was upset about Emily.

* * *

"Valerie, I need to talk to you."

"Not now, David," I say to him, quickly making my way through the halls with him trailing close behind. "I tried to talk to you this morning but you brushed me off. Besides, I have to get to my prefect meeting."

"This is more important than a prefect meeting," He says, grabbing my arm.

I stop and turn to look at him. "Is someone hurt?"

"No."

"Is someone in trouble?"

"No."

"Then it can wait," I say, mocking him with the exact same thing he said to me this morning. I jerk my arm away from him. I can't be late, I can't. I turn around to continue my way down the corridor, only to have David grab my arm again.

"David!" I exclaim. "I have to go!"

"Look, I know you have a meeting to get to but this is important!" He says.

I let out a sigh and take my arm from him. "Okay, I give. What's the matter?"

"First things first," He say, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "Do you promise not to freak out?"

"Why would I freak out?"

"Just promise me that you won't."

I sigh. "Fine, I promise I won't freak out."

He shifts from foot to foot. "I think, and don't start screaming," He pauses as I roll my eyes. "I think that Emily fancies Tom Riddle."

I stare at him blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter. People walking around slow down and stare at us oddly as I continue to laugh, but they don't understand the absurdity of what David said. Emily fancying Tom Riddle? _Please! _She'd date a hippogriff before she'd date him!

"Oh, that's a good one David!" I laugh. "Now, if you excuse me I have to get to my meeting."

"Wait, you don't believe me?"

"Believe you? David, I'm starting to question your sanity! I mean, come on, Emily fancying Riddle? _Ha_! As if that would ever happen!"

"But, Valerie," He protests. "It all makes sense; why Emily sat with Tom last night, why she wanted you to apologize to him so bad-"

"Must you remind me of that?"

"And Keller said he overheard her talking with her friends about him."

"Oh please," I say. "Keller has probably just run out of dirt to tell you and is making it all up."

David crosses his arms. "What if I'm right, though? What if Emily does indeed fancy Riddle?"

I laugh. "There is _no way_ that would ever happen."

"Why wouldn't it?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at me expectantly.

I sigh. "It wouldn't happen because Emily knows how much I hate Riddle. Besides, he's two years older than her."

"That's not exactly a huge age difference, Valerie."

"He's also not her type."

"That's what _you_ think! You and Emily have completely different brains!"

"Well, our brains are similar enough to know that Riddle is out of the question."

"You're just coming up with reasons to make what I've said untrue!"

"I'm not, David!" I say. "I just think that what you're saying is absurd!"

"But it all adds up!" He protests.

I roll my eyes and start walking away from him. Emily fancying Tom Riddle? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my entire life.

"Hey!" David says, walking after me. "I'm not finished talking with you yet!"

"I have to get to my meeting!" I exclaim, walking faster. David's starting to get on my last nerve, he really is. There's no way Emily likes Tom. She may not hate him, but she definitely doesn't like him. There's just no way.

"I don't care about your meeting," He says, still walking after me. "What I care about is the fact that our little sister has taken a liking to Tom Riddle. I would've thought you'd be the first to be upset about this!"

"Well, I'm not upset about it because you have no solid proof, David," I explain. "Did Emily tell you she fancied Riddle? No. Did one of her friends say she did? Again, no. All you have is your opinion and Keller's supposed facts."

"But think about it for a minute, Valerie," He says. "She desperately wants you to apologize to him, even though she knows how much you _loathe_ him, and then she goes ahead and sits with him at the party. That's the whole reason I showed up to the damn thing, Val! I knew something was up with Emily and last night confirmed my suspicions. Emily likes Tom!"

I stop and whirl around to look at him. "David, there is no way, I repeat, _no way _that Emily likes Tom." With that, I turn around on my heel and continue my way down the hall.

"Deny it all you want, Valerie," David calls after me. "I know I'm right!"

I roll my eyes.

_Yeah right._

* * *

I remember one time when I was five years old I broke a vase that had once belonged to my great, great grandmother. My mother was absolutely, one hundred percent livid. Believe it or not, that's actually an understatement; she was _furious_. I had never seen her so angry in all my life. Her normally fair face was beet red and hot, a vein budged out on her forehead, and she grit her teeth so hard I was terrified she would break them.

I never thought anyone would ever be able get as angry as she did.

Turns out I was wrong.

I did.

Audrey Lank and Jeffery Carter, also known as the idiotic Head Girl and Boy, decided at today's meeting that it would be a splendid idea to have me and Tom Riddle patrol the halls together. They said something about the house prefects being partners when on their duties, but all I heard was hell, torture, more hell, and the loss of my sanity. I am in no way being dramatic, despite what people tell me.

_I hate my life. I hate my life. I hate my life. Oh Merlin, I hate my life!_

I storm through the halls, biting my tongue and keeping my hands clenched at my sides as I took every step. I have prefect duties tonight, but I just want to go to bed and pray that when I wake up this will all be a dream. Correction, a nightmare. A terrible, cold-blooded nightmare brought on by too much studying or that fact that my brother gave me a speech about how Emily fancies Tom, which is still, and will always be, impossible.

I stop at the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room; a simple looking, stone wall.

"_Pure-blood_," I hiss, still furious from the meeting.

The wall slowly opens before me, and I storm inside. I can't believe Audrey and Jeffery thought it was a good idea to pair me and Tom together. Me and Tom, it's the perfect storm. We'll be lucky if we don't kill each other before our duties end tonight. Sometimes I hate being a prefect, though I'm sure I'd love it if Tom wasn't in the picture. _What a wonderful world that would be._

I walk quickly into the girl's dormitory, and quite frankly I'm surprised I don't see a trail of fire following my feet.

"Oh come on Emily, don't think like that!" I hear a female voice say behind a door.

"It's really hard to, Maddie," I hear the voice of Emily reply.

I stop and look at the door; it's Emily's dorm room.

"Well, who says he doesn't fancy you as well?" I hear a different female voice say.

I'm not one to snoop, that's David's job, but I can't help myself, I really can't. My curiosity has been sparked. I inch closer to the door that's only opened an inch, making sure that none of the occupants of the room are alerted that I'm there, silently listening in to their conversation. I carefully peer through the crack in the door and I see Emily sitting on the floor with Madeline and Jane.

"Exactly," Madeline says. "There's nothing saying that he doesn't."

"There's also nothing saying that he does either!" Emily says, throwing her hands up.

Who are they talking about? Who? _Who? _I have to know, I _have_ to. My little sister fancies someone, and I can't help but be happy for her. I smile as I eagerly shift from foot to foot waiting for the girls to unknowingly give me a clue about who this boy is.

"Well, you'll never know unless you try," Jane says.

"I know, that's what I'm going to do," Emily says. "But I'm a bit worried he won't take any notice."

"Why wouldn't he? Your smart, pretty, and an incredibly kind person," Madeline says.

"I know, but he's two years older than me! There are plenty of attractive Sixth Year girls that he could choose from!" Emily points out.

He's in my year, that doesn't narrow it down much. Hopefully I can get a name or at least a description of what he looks like, he might be in one of my classes.

"Like your sister?" Jane asks. "Is that what you're worried about? That he might like your sister? Or that your sister might like him?"

Emily snorts and laughs. "Please! My sister would die before she ever dated Tom Riddle!"

My smile is immediately slapped off my face and my heart stops.

She fancies Tom Riddle? _Tom Riddle?_

I feel like I've just been punched in the face a hundred times, and I swear I feel a sharp knife go straight through my back.

_She fancies Tom Riddle._

No, this isn't happening, this is a dream. No, this is a nightmare, I know that this is a nightmare, it has to be. It can't be anything else, it can't be!

_No, no, no, oh Merlin, please no!_

I back away from the door. I feel like I'm going to be sick. This can't be happening, she can't fancy Tom. He's my worst enemy, the one person I will always hate more than anything else in the world. She knows how much I hate him; she knows I can't stand the mere sight of him. How could she fancy him? How? _How_? This can't be happening, she can't fancy him, she can't. This is all some sort of sick joke!

Then I remember David saying Emily fancied Tom. Then I realize he was right.

_He was right._

Before I have a chance to scream in fury, I dash down the hall and into the Common Room, where only Keller sits with a book in his lap. I storm over to him, and just before I reach him he looks up at me. He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off by grabbing the front of his shirt and yanking out of the chair with new found strength. He stares at me with slightly panicked eyes, but my glare doesn't falter.

"Get me David," I begin through gritted teeth.

I thought being paired up for prefect duties with Tom was the worst thing that could happen to me. I was wrong.

"Now."

* * *

**Reviews please! **


	6. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

It takes about ten minutes for Keller to get over his shock and manage to get David from his dorm. I'm tapping my foot excessively as David walks towards me, and I can tell he knows I'm angry; the expression that's probably on my face is more than enough for him.

"What happened?" He asks tentatively and calmly.

Another burst of anger rushes through me. _How is he so goddamn calm? _

"You were right!" I say through gritted teeth, hitting him hard in the shoulder.

"_Ow!_" He hisses, rubbing his arm. "Since when are you so abusive?"

"This is no time for snide comments, David!" I exclaim angrily, throwing my hands up.

"Well, I wouldn't have to drop comments if you told me what was going, now would I?" He asks sarcastically.

I bite my tongue as I cross my arms. I didn't know it was humanly possible for me to be even angrier than before, apparently it is. David notices my angry glare, and he takes a step back and raises his hands in defense.

"You're right," He says slowly. "That was stupid."

"You're damn right it was!" I nearly scream.

"Okay, well, what happened?"

"You were right! I passed Emily's dorm and-and... I just-I can't!" I angrily sputter out before screaming through my teeth.

"Val," He says. "Just explain this to me slowly and calmly."

I inhale deeply and hold my breath for a moment before letting it out. No, it didn't work. I'm still furious.

"I was walking by Emily's dorm room," I say, trying to refrain from screaming. "When I heard her say she fancies Tom Riddle."

David has a smug look on his face. _Of course he does, he was right._ I scowl at him and he quickly covers it up with a frown.

"Now you see why I was adamant about telling you, don't you?" He asks.

"Yes. I can't believe she would even think about him! She knows how much I hate him!"

"Actually if you think about it it's not all that surprising."

"What do you mean it's not that surprising? It's Tom Riddle! Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad! Emily never listens to us! What made you think she'd start now?"

"I know she never listens to us but I at least expected her to know that I would be immensely upset if she started to fancy Tom Riddle!"

David sighs. "Well, we have to make sure that nothing happens between the two of them."

"I know we do!" I say, crossing my arms. I stay silent for a long moment before a burst of fear shoots through me and a question tumbles out of my mouth before I can stop it. "You don't think Riddle likes her back, do you?"

"No, I don't," David shakes his head. "But I do think that Emily is confident enough to go after him."

"Well, what are we going to do?" I ask.

He presses his lips into a thin line. "You're not going to like what I have in mind."

Panic shoots through me. "What is it?"

"You'll vomit as soon as I tell you," He says, shaking his head.

"What _is_ it?" I repeat forcefully. What's he trying to say? He has to tell me! I can't take anymore shock today!

He sighs as he looks at me solemnly. "You're going to have to get Riddle to date you."

My jaw drops to the floor and my arms uncross and fall to my sides. I have to get Tom Riddle to date me? Me? The girl he hates and the girl who hates him? David's lost his mind, he must have. There's no way in hell that someone _sane_ would think that they could just tell me to date Tom Riddle and I'd be okay with that. I continue to stare at David, hoping for him to burst out into laughter, signalling me that he hasn't lost his mind. But he doesn't, he just stares back at me.

"No," I finally say. "That's the last thing I'm going to do."

"But Valerie," He says. "It's the only thing we can do! If you date Riddle and he 'breaks your heart' she will see that he's no good for her and never think about him again. You have to trust me on this."

"Trust you?" I ask in disbelief. "David, I'm already questioning your sanity!"

"Valerie, you have to do this!" He says. "You don't want Emily to date him. _I_ don't want Emily to date him. It's either you find some way to get Riddle to date you, or we are going to have to risk allowing Emily to date him! Which would you rather have?"

He can't be serious, I know he can't. I have to be dreaming, this whole day is a terrible nightmare that I'm going to wake up from. David's not serious, he a figment of my dreams. But his face is so solemn, so vivid, and I'm starting to doubt my denial. Maybe he is serious. Maybe he actually wants me to do this. But I can't do it; I know I can't even if I wanted to. I can't just push aside six years of rivalry with Tom and simply pretend I have an attraction to him.

Besides, as much I don't want to admit it, Tom is smart. He's not daft enough to believe that after six years of hatred I suddenly develop an attraction to him. _He'd see right through me. _What's more, there's no way that Tom would ever consider dating me. He hates me just as much as I hate him. The only thing he and I would ever agree on is that we can't stand the living sight of each other and that we'd die before we'd start dating.

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I'm not doing that."

David lets out an exasperated sigh. "But, Val-"

"No, David," I say, cutting him off. "It wouldn't work anyway. I can't just put away all my anger towards Riddle and pretend I fancy him out of nowhere. He wouldn't believe me if I did, anyway."

"But there's a way you can do it and make him believe it if you-"

"David," I say, shaking my head. "It's not going to work."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

I shrug and shake my head. "I don't know. I'm tired, David, and I'm stressed out. I don't want to argue anymore."

He scoffs "That's a surprise."

"David," I say. "Please."

He sighs. "What are we going to do then?"

"I already told you, I don't know," I say, crossing my arms. "Look, I have to get to my prefect duties, I'm already late."

"But we still haven't found a solution to Emily fancying Riddle," David says. "I only have that plan, Valerie, and I'm convinced it's full-proof."

I sigh. "Well, you're going to have to think of another plan," I say. "I'll see you later, alright?" I turn around and quickly walk out of the Common Room.

David should know how ridiculous his plan sounds. It's impossible on both sides; I could never get Tom to date me, and Tom would never even think about it. There's no way his plan would ever work, no way. It's not full-proof, despite what he thinks. There are too many obvious flaws and too many things that could go horribly, horribly wrong. I don't want Emily to date Tom, but I also don't want to have to date him myself. _David better think of something else._

I turn a corner and I see Tom standing there, no doubt waiting for me. I remember why I got angry the first time tonight, and it's because I have to perform my prefect duties with him. _Please, Merlin, let the night be over_ _soon_. Tom turns around and spots me, and I see his eyes grow cold.

"You're late," He says as I walk up beside him.

I scowl. "I had a family emergency."

"I'm sure your siblings are old enough to take care of themselves," He says.

He knows I'm angry, and he wants to make me even more. This is why David's plan won't work; I want Tom to blow up into flames. I'll never be able to convince him I fancy him, ever. It just won't happen. The world would explode before it happened. _I_ would explode before it happened.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I say bitterly. "I'm here now and next time I won't be late."

He doesn't say anything, and silence cascades onto us as we start walking. I don't mind the silence as I patrol the halls with him, in fact I welcome it. I would rather have silence between the two of us instead of conversation, that way I won't have to look at him or hear him and it'll be like he isn't here at all. But wherever there's an upside there's always a downside. In this case, the downside is that the silence, though favoured, makes the night drag on for what seems like an eternity. We've really only been walking for at least half an hour, but it feels like we've been walking for two hours.

"_Hurry up_," I mutter quietly to no one. I just to go to bed and cling onto the last hope that today is still a nightmare.

"Did you say something?" Tom asks.

I mentally curse myself. "No."

"I heard you," He says. "You said something. What was it?"

"It's nothing," I hiss. It's none of his business, and I know he doesn't really care about it. He just wants to make me angry.

"It's not good to keep secrets, you know," He says, placing his hands behind his back. "Someone might think you're up to something."

His plan tonight is to make me as angry as possible. It's working. "I'm not hiding _anything_!" I snap. "And even if I was I wouldn't be so stupid that I would tell you!"

"You get so defensive," He says. "It's really not helping your case."

"Must you be such a git?" I ask angrily, stopping in my tracks.

"I surprised you don't expect this, Yarrow," He says, stopping as well. "You said it yourself the other night; I don't like you and you certainly don't like me. We're alone, why must we hide it?"

"You know," I say, crossing my arms. "I'm convinced that the whole reason you showed up to this school was just to irritate me."

"Do you actually think that I would come to a school just to pay attention to _you_? Please, Yarrow, be realistic about things before you open your mouth."

I'm tempted to slap him across the face. I could, and I very well would. But if I slapped Riddle across the face now I would be stripped of my prefect status and I would never become Head Girl. I am realistic; otherwise I would've slapped him across the face ten times over.

"_You_ are one of the worst people I have _ever_ met!" I say through gritted teeth. "I just want to get though this night and all the rest of them without uttering a single word to each other, agreed?"

He clenches his jaw at me, and I scowl. "Agreed. Nothing would make me happier."

We start to walk again. I can't believe Emily likes this git! He's horrid in every way possible. I can't let her go after him, I can't. I don't care if Tom might not have any attraction to her; Emily's pretty and she's persistent. I wouldn't be surprised if he dated her just to make her shut up and then broke her heart to get rid of her. Realization suddenly hits me. That's what David is so worried about, and I realize that it's what I'm worried about too.

Emily's our little sister; David and I are protective over her. We've always seen and labelled Tom Riddle as a threat, me more so than David. Suddenly when Emily decides she fancies Tom, David and I are, of course, going to get angry. We're going to get angry because we know he's trouble, and we know that he'll only break her heart. Emily's so naive, and that's what makes her so fragile at times. Emily can't date Tom. I won't allow it.

"Well," Tom says, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Our duties are over for tonight." What? I didn't realize I had been lost in thought for that long. He turns to look at me and notices me eying him. "Oh, I'm sorry," He says in a mocking tone. "I forgot we didn't want to speak to each other."

I scowl and turn away from him, storming back in the direction of the Common Room. I hear Tom's footsteps behind me, and I walk faster. I'm jogging by the time I make it to the Common Room entrance.

"Pure-blood," I say, and I fly into the room as soon as the entrance is opened.

I want to go to bed. I just want tonight to be over. I'm prepared to walk straight up to my room when I see David sitting in a chair by the fireplace. My eyebrows furrow. Everyone's in bed by now, that means he waited for me. That means he needs to talk to me. He turns around to look at me and stands up just as Tom enters the room. I can feel the air tense around us.

"Yarrow," He says, looking at David. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

David frowns. "I was waiting for my sister."

"I'm sure whatever you want to tell your sister can wait until the morning; it's after curfew."

"I'm not breaking any rules; I'm in the Common Room not the halls."

Tom doesn't reply to David's somewhat smart-ass comment, but I have a smug look on my face. Tom tilts his head at David. "Goodnight then," He says, and he walks briskly into the boys dormitory. Someone's made him angry, now he knows how it feels.

"I haven't thought of a new plan," David says, and I turn my head to look at him.

"But David-"

"I tried, Val, really I did. I sat here for hours trying to figure something out but, I can't! Nothing will work as well as this plan but you don't want to do it, and I'm not going to make you. It's just that we're stuck now, we have no way out."

"Then what happens now?" I ask.

"We could wait it out, I guess," He shrugs, turning his head to look at the fire. "But I rather not wait until our sister has her heart broken to take any action."

I avert my gaze to the fire. I don't Emily's heart broken either, it's the last thing I want. She'll go after Tom, I know her well enough to know that. I can't let that happen, I'd be a terrible sister if I did. We can't wait it out; we have to settle this as quickly as possible. I'm wracking my brain for a new plan, but I come up with nothing. Emily won't listen if we try to convince her, and we can't just make Tom disappear. There's only one way to go.

"I'll do it," I say, looking at David. I'm doing it; I can't believe I'm actually doing it.

He turns his head away from the fire and stares at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

I stare back at him. I feel a great sense of self-hatred and nervousness; in fact I think I'm going to be sick. I'm taking a risk; I'm taking a thousand risks. I'm plunging into the deep, dark sea with only my sense of reason to keep me afloat. Or perhaps I already threw my sense of reason out the door, and now I only have myself to rely on. There's a voice in the back of my head telling me not to do it, telling me that it's a bad idea doomed to end horribly wrong. I agree with it, but I don't obey it. It's a shot in the dark, but I have to do it, it's the only way.

_One._

I take in a deep breath and swallow.

_Two._

"I said," I begin, ridding myself of all apprehension.

_Three._

"I'll do it. I'll date Riddle."

* * *

**Cliffhanger!**

**Things are getting serious now.**

**Please review!**

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	7. Chapter Six

**Sorry it takes a bit of time to update. I usually write short chapters for my stories but I'm trying to train myself not to do that anymore. **

**I doubt it'll work, but hey, at least I can say I'm making an effort. **

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"You're going to do what?" Elizabeth asks me, raising an eyebrow.

"Make a truce with Tom Riddle," I say, adjusting my robes. I can't believe I'm going to do this; I've officially lost my mind. _It's all for Emily._ That's all I have to remember._ I'm only doing this for her. _If I keep that in mind maybe trying to get Tom Riddle to date me won't be that bad. No, it'll always be bad.

"But you hate him," Serene says, staring at me like I've grown two extra heads. Maybe I have, maybe that's why I decided to do it.

"Well, it's a new term, isn't it?" I say. "I have to mature at _some_ point, don't I?"

"Yes," Elizabeth says slowly. "But last year you literally got sick at the thought of becoming his friend."

"Then it's time to change that," I say. I thought about telling them what my real plan is, but they'd only think I was mad. I am mad, but I don't want everybody to think that. No, this is strictly between me and David, no one else. Besides, if I told them they might tell someone else until it gets back to Tom. I can't let that happen, it'll ruin everything.

"Alright, if you think it'll make you a calmer person," Serene says, shrugging.

I grin. "I have to go meet David," I say. "See you later."

"Bye!" They say simultaneously as I walk out of the room.

I walk quickly down the hall, picking up my pace as I pass Emily's room. I don't want to talk to her right now, I'm certain I'll explode on her. I walk out to the Common Room and I see David standing by the fireplace. _He's right on time. _I adjust my bag on my shoulder and walk over to him, tapping him on the shoulder as I reach him.

"Hey," I say as he turns around.

"Hey," He replies. His eyes scan the crowded Common Room for a moment before he grabs my arm. "Let's, uh, let's chat in private, shall we?"

I look around the Common Room. He's right, there are too many people. Plus, I can see a few of Tom's minions in the far right corner. We especially can't have them hearing us; they're a straight link to Tom. I nod and follow him as he walks out of the Common Room at a quick pace.

"Alright," He says as we step out into the hall. "I was awake all night making up a game plan."

"Which is?" I ask, walking briskly to keep up with his fast pace.

"You need to get closer to Riddle."

"What do you mean by that?"

He adjusts his bag over his shoulder as he walks. "What I mean is that you can't sit a mile away from him during classes and meals. Try to sit closer to him, strike up some conversations, and not ones that involve insulting him or letting him know that you don't trust him!"

I roll my eyes. "That's asking quite a bit, isn't it?"

"Don't be sarcastic, this is serious," He says. "Remember if this plan fails you might be nursing Emily's crushed heart in just a year's time."

"Me? What about you?" I ask, stopping at the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Please," David scoffs. "Nursing broken hearts is your job; my job is to beat the snot out of the man who did it."

"David," I say, sending him a sharp look. As much as I would _love_ to see him give Tom Riddle a good beating, I don't want to see my brother in Azkaban.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," He assures me, looking around the Great Hall. After a few moments of letting his eyes scan the crowded room, he points towards the Slytherin table. "There he is."

I know who he's talking about, and I sigh as I look to where he's pointing. Sure enough, there's Tom sitting alone and eating his breakfast. It's too late to turn back now; I've already promised David I'd go through with whatever he thinks of. _What was I thinking?_

"Okay," David says, leaning down to my level as he adjusts his bag on his shoulder. "You have to get a couple words into him before his friends get here."

"Minions," I correct.

"Whatever, just do it."

"How do you know so much about talking to boys?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's amazing what your girlfriend's friends will tell you when you got a few galleons in your pocket," He replies. "Now, go talk to him."

He pushes me forward lightly and I send him a glare as I walk towards the table. I turn my gaze to Tom. He hasn't noticed me yet; maybe it's not too late to run. I'll just explain to David that this plan is going to kill me, and I'm not exaggerating about that. _You're doing this for Emily._ Damn, there it is; my conscience. _You promised David. _Not all promises can be kept. _Think of Emily with a broken heart. You don't want that, do you?_ No, I don't want that, I have to do this. Merlin, I hate myself.

I swallow as I sit beside Tom, purposely leaving enough room for someone to sit down between us. He hears me sit down and his eyes shoot away from his dinner plate and onto me. I'm mentally coaching myself. _Don't frown, don't glare, keep your cool, keep calm._

"Morning," I say, flashing a soft smile that only lasts on my face for half a second.

He raises an eyebrow and stares at me in disbelief. I don't blame him though; if I were him I'd be doing the exact same thing. He probably thinks I've lost my mind, whereas I _know_ I have.

"Bit close today aren't we, Yarrow?" He asks. "Some would think that's dangerous."

_Don't snap back, just ignore it. _I refrain from frowning as I look back at him. "Just thought a change would be nice, that's all."

He raises his eyebrow at me again. He expects me to retaliate, that's why he drops passively snide comments that only I'll be able to get offended by. But, shockingly enough to the both of us, I'm not freaking out. I'm mad, yes, but I'm not freaking out. Maybe I can do this.

"What?" He asks.

"I said I thought that a change would be nice," I reply. "I don't have to sit with my friends all the time."

"Did they finally grow tired of you after six years?" He asks in a mocking tone.

No, I can't do this. I bite my tongue. _That is it! _I can't go through with this. I tried, I really tried, but I can't do this, I can't.

"No," I hiss. "And you know, I'd like to be able to just sit where I please without any questions."

He smirks. He knows he's got to me. "Well then," He says, moving to stand up. "I'll let you 'sit where you please' in peace. It seems you need it." He sends me another smirk as he walks away, leaving me to fume.

"_Git_," I hiss under my breath.

I rest my chin in my hand as I glare at the table. Well damn, there goes _that_ plan. I knew this wasn't going to work, I only agreed to do it when I had no more hope. Maybe I shouldn't trust David with the plan making, maybe I should just think of a plan myself that doesn't involve me talking to Tom. Yes, I think that would work out quite nicely. Well, it'll work out better than this plan, that's for sure.

"What was that?" A familiar male voice asks. My eyes shoot up from the table and I'm greeted with the sight of a shocked David. "What did you say to him?" He asks.

"Nothing!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up.

"Hogwash," He says, rolling his eyes. "He dropped a comment, you got offended."

"How did you know that?"

He points a few seats down the table and I look at what he's pointing at. I immediately recognize Keller sitting far enough away that I won't notice him, but close enough that he can listen to whatever I'm saying clearly. _That little rat!_

"You had Keller spying on me?" I ask angrily.

"And apparently for good reason," David says. "You completely blew that one."

"Well, Keller didn't tell you the whole context of my conversation with Riddle," I say.

"It doesn't matter," He says. "All that matters is that you lost your temper and provided a setback for yourself. That _can't_ happen again."

I sigh. "Is it too late to think of a new plan?"

"Yes," He says. "Now, you have Transfiguration with Riddle-"

"How the hell do you know that? Wait; did you have Keller sneak a peek at my timetable?"

"That's irrelevant to the point. The point is you have to try to get on Riddle's good side during that class and all the classes you have with him afterward."

I sigh. He's not going to let me out of this.

"Fine."

* * *

_Okay Valerie, remain calm, don't freak out on him. Just pretend he's Serene or Elizabeth, that will make things easier. _

I've taken up the habit of coaching myself, but as I've proven once before, it's probably not going to work. He'll set me off and I'll explode, I know it.

My fingers absent-mindedly tap the strap of my bag as I walk into the Transfiguration room. I look around the room and see Tom sitting in the second row of the class, and seat beside him is empty. I have to get to that seat before one of his minions get to it first. I failed at breakfast, but I am determined to make sure that I don't fail now. _Merlin, help me._

I adjust my bag over my shoulder and walk over to Tom's desk, my head held high. If Tom's aware of me standing there, he's doing a good job of hiding it. I don't wait for him to look up before I sit down; I just sit and send him a sideways glance. I clear my throat and he looks up at me, a vague look of shock crossing his face. He probably expected one of his minions to be sitting here, instead he got me.

"Yarrow," He says, eying me. "What are you doing?" His tone strikes a nerve with me, but I try my best not to freak out.

"Getting ready for class," I say, pulling my book out of my bag.

"And you're sitting here?"

"Yes," I say, nodding. He sends me a look that strikes another nerve, and I bite my tongue. "Is that a problem?" I snap, the words coming out of my mouth so fast I can't stop them. He raises an eyebrow at me and smirks. He knows he's got to me once again. _Great, I blew it again._

"You seem much more on edge than usual, Yarrow," He points out, turning back to his book. "Prefect duties proving to be too much of a stress for you? I'm sure Headmaster Dippet or Professor Slughorn would give you a break or even replace you if you asked."

Now he's just being an ass. Sure, it sounds like a helpful suggestion, but in reality, where I seem like the only inhabitant, he's basically saying that I can't handle being a prefect. He knows I wouldn't like that sort of comment; he knows that I would loathe it and immediately snap. I _am_ snapping, I can feel my blood boiling and steam flying out of my ears. I'm not doing too well on this plan.

"I don't need a break, _Riddle_," I sneer. "And has it ever crossed your mind that maybe I'm more on edge than usual because I don't like you?"

"Well, if you despise me so much then why are you sitting with me?"

"That's none of your business!"

"I'm merely curious, Yarrow. Usually when one loathes another they try to stay as far away from them as possible, yet seem to bet getting closer. Why is that?"

I scowl at him. "As I've said before, it's none of your business."

"Alright then," He says. "Then I suppose you don't mind moving to another seat."

I glare at him. "No, I don't." I immediately stand up, grabbing my book off the desk. I scowl at him once more before turning on my heel and moving to the available seat that's farthest from him. I plop onto the chair and slam my book down on my desk angrily, causing the person sitting beside me to jump.

"What's the matter with you?" They ask.

I turn my head to look at them. It's Elizabeth, staring at me with wide, grey eyes.

"The usual," I mutter, opening my book.

She shakes her head as she turns to her book. "This is why Serene and I thought that making a truce with Tom Riddle was a bad idea."

"I thought you wanted me to learn to get along with people"

"Well, yes. But we've given up hope for you and Tom," She explains, flipping to a page in her book. "The first thing I thought when you said 'truce' and 'Tom Riddle' together in a sentence was train wreck."

"Well, you thought wrong," I say. "That was _worse_ than a train wreck."

* * *

"Okay, do you get it now?" I ask.

Serene presses her lips into a thin line as she stares at her Transfiguration book. "I think so...Actually, no, can you explain it to me again?"

I sigh and point to her page with the end of my quill. "Alright, so-"

"Hey, Val?" Elizabeth asks as she enters the room.

"Yeah?"

"David's looking for you, says it's important."

I grimace. I don't want to talk to David, I really don't. I failed trying to get on good terms with Tom. After Transfiguration things just kept on going downhill, I either got mad at him or one of Tom's minions beat me to sitting beside him. Lunch was no different, in fact, Tom wasn't even in the Great Hall for lunch, and I honestly didn't think it was worth going to look for him. But I can't just tell David that I failed again and gave up, besides Keller's probably already told him the things he witnessed when he was in the same class as me and Tom. Whatever he said, it's probably more than enough for David to berate me about.

"I'm busy helping Serene," I say, gesturing to her. There, I have an excuse and it's valid.

"I'm fine," She says, shrugging. "I think I've got it now."

"But a minute ago you didn't," I say, desperately clinging on to what petty attempt of an excuse I have.

"I thought about a bit more," She replies. "After you finish talking with David you can tell me if I'm right or not."

I look back up at Elizabeth, who moves away from the door to make room for me. "Get to it."

I sigh and stand up, hesitantly walking out the door. David's going to give me such a hard time; I can already see it now. I step out into the Common Room and see David sitting in a chair with his back to me. I should just turn around and pretend to Serene and Elizabeth that I talked to him when I didn't. If they, or he, finds out, I'll deal with the consequences later. Just as I go to turn around, David turns around in his chair and stands up when he sees me. _Well that's just great, isn't it?_

"Hey," He says. "How did today go?"

"Uh," I start. "Decently." I don't mean for it to come out like a question, but it does.

He raises an eyebrow at me. "That sounds...uncertain. Val, what really happened?"

I sigh. "I blew it again, alright? I couldn't stop getting mad at him! He knows me well enough to know what kind of things to say to make me angry."

He sighs in exasperation. "Val, you have to learn to control your temper!"

"I was trying!"

"I know! I know! Look, you just have to finds some ways to keep calm when you're talking to him."

"And how do you suggest I do that?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"I haven't thought of it yet," He says. "I'll think of something, in the meantime you mentally coach yourself until I can think of something."

"That's what I've been trying," I exclaim, throwing my hands up.

"Well, try harder," He says. "Look, I've got to go meet Marie. I'll see you later."

With that he walks out leaving me alone in the Common Room.

I sigh.

"Great."

* * *

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	8. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"Well this has become a complete disaster!" I say, running my hand through my hair.

It's been a week since I started to become nicer to Tom. I'm sorry, correction; it's been a week since I started to _attempt_ to become nicer to Tom. Classes usually go the same way every time; one of Tom's minions beat me to the chair beside him or I lose my temper. Meals seem to be getting worse and worse; I would've thrown my bowl of soup at Tom if David hadn't held me down. I don't even wanna bring up prefect duties; let's just say that an old statue unfortunately fell victim to my anger, thankfully no one was around to see.

"You're not trying hard enough," David says.

"I am," I protest rather loudly, earning myself a curt hush from the librarian. I sigh. "Have you thought of any plan yet?"

"Actually," He whispers. "I have." He pulls a crystal phial out of his bag and waves it in front of my face.

I tentatively reach out and take the phial from him, inspecting it. Through the glass, I see a clear liquid. It resembles water but as I take off the cap of the phial and the pleasant scent of lavender and jasmine reach my nose, I know it has to be something else. Suddenly a wave hits me, but can't describe what sort of wave it is. All I know is that it makes me feel better. I put the cap back on the phial and hold it in front of my face. It must be some sort of powerful perfume, but how is a perfume going to calm my nerves? Come to think of it, why is David even giving me a perfume?

"What is it?" I ask.

"A potion," He says. "A calming potion to be exact."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really? How did you get it?"

"Slughorn has the recipe in his files," He shrugs.

"And how did you get it from _there_?"

"Keller is very good at what he does."

I roll my eyes. "So explain to me how this thing works."

"Well, the name is sort of self-explanatory, it'll calm you down," He says. "You can't take it forever though, otherwise you'll get used to the effects and it'll wear off until you're basically drinking scented water."

"So if I drink this, I won't get angry?"

"Oh no, you'll get angry, but you'll have a better hold on your temper," He says, shaking his head. "Think of it as a training tool. Drink for awhile and once you get used to keeping your anger in check, you can stop drinking it."

"How long to the effects last?" I ask, still staring at the phial.

"About eight hours," He says. "Once it's consumed it works instantly. I'd suggest taking it just before you go to talk to Riddle, and if your eight hours are up and you have to talk to him again, drink another phial and you're good for another eight hours."

"But you've only given me one phial," I say, turning my gaze to him. "That's only going to last me eight hours."

"I'll make more, don't worry," He says. He grabs his bag and slings it over his shoulder as he stands up. "Anyway, I've got to go meet Keller."

"Why?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, business meeting," He says. "See you later."

"Bye," I say as he walks out of the library. I sigh and turn my gaze back to the phial in my hand.

Can this really work? Is this small phial of potion going to help me learn how to keep my temper in check? It's probably the best shot I've got, because I obviously can't train myself on my own. Sometimes I wonder if this is all worth it, maybe I should just let everything happen the way it wants to happen. That thought is always short-lived once I get the image of Emily dating Tom, and him breaking her heart. _Merlin, this year should be interesting._

* * *

I'm staring at the potion phial David gave me as I walk down the hall to my room. I still haven't taken it yet, then again I haven't had the chance to. I'll take it in an hour, that's when Tom and I are patrolling the halls together. _God, I hope this potion works._

In my daze, I suddenly bump into someone and I stumble backwards.

"What's up with you and bumping into people?" A familiar voice laughs. My eyes widen. It's Emily.

"Emily," I say, quickly stashing the potion phial in my bag. "Hi."

"Hi," She laughs. "I haven't talked to you for like a week! Where have you been?"

"Oh," I say. She's right; I've avoided her since I found out about her crush on Tom. "I've been busy."

"So busy that you can't even talk to your sister?" She asks in mock hurt.

I bite my lip. "Uh, yeah."

She rolls her eyes. "Anyway, how have you been?"

"Good," I say simply. I find it easier not to snap at people I actually like and care about, but at the same time I want to grab Emily and shake some sense into her. She needs to get a grip. "How are you?"

"I'm good," She nods. There's a pause before she speaks again. "You have prefect duties with Tom Riddle tonight, don't you?"

"Yeah, in an hour," I reply. I raise my eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Oh," She says, shifting from foot to foot. "I was just wondering how they were going, that's all."

"They're, uh," I start. "Interesting."

"Oh," She says. "So what's it like spending all that time with him? I know you hate him."

"You know, Em," I say, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. "I've got to go get ready. I'll talk to you later." I don't wait for her response as I quickly walk past her and rush as quickly as I can to my room. I had to get out of that conversation; I was going to snap at any moment.

I sigh as I enter my room, and I throw myself onto my bed. Elizabeth and Serene aren't here, neither are our other two roommates, so I pull the phial out of my bag and hold it above my head. David said it will work, hopefully he's right. I sigh as I sit up on my bed, continuing to stare at the phial. I keep my gaze locked on the phial as the minutes tick by; I have nothing else to do until I have to start my duties.

I now realize I've been lost in thought to the point where I have ten minutes until I have to meet Tom, and I sigh. I carefully take the cap off the phial and bring it closer to my mouth. I take a few deep breaths before inhaling and bringing the phial to my lips and drinking the liquid. It tastes exactly like it smells, calming. I get hit with a wave of what I now know as peace, and I drink the last drop of the liquid. I sigh as I remove the phial from my lips, and I stare at it. There's nothing to look at now though, it's empty.

I stand up from my bed, making sure to put the empty phial back in my bag. I adjust my robes and inspect my prefect badge before clearing my throat and walking out.

Here goes nothing.

* * *

"Well," Tom says as I walk over to him. "You aren't late this time."

I scowl. Normally now would be the time when I say something, but I don't, I'm managing to hold my tongue. Wow, David's right, I do have a better hold on my anger. Tom looks at me expectantly, and I know he's expecting me to say something. Here we go, now I'll get mad about the fact that he just expects me to snap at him. I bite my tongue, but I still don't say anything. _Good, training myself will be much easier now._

"Good evening, Tom," I say. My voice sounds a bit strained, but it's better than nothing. I didn't get angry. He raises an eyebrow at me, and I raise mine back at him. "Is there something wrong?" I ask.

He places his hands behind his back as he starts to walk slowly down the hall, and I cross my arms as I follow him.

"You're surprisingly calm, Yarrow," He notes.

"Oh?"

"Yes," He says, narrowing his eyes at me. "I can't help but think you're up to something."

I tense a bit, but I hope he doesn't notice. Tom's smart, of course he would notice me acting differently this past week. Hell, anyone would be able to notice that I've been acting strange. I can only pray though that he can't notice my worry.

"What makes you think that?" I ask.

"Well," He starts. "You've been sitting with me every chance you get, trying to strike up conversations with me when you can. Yarrow, I could go on forever with what absurdities you've been doing lately."

"I don't think 'absurdities' is the proper word for it," I say. I'm lying; 'absurdities' doesn't even describe half of what I've been doing.

"What is the proper word for it then?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Changes," I say, slowing my pace to a stop.

He stops and turns his head to me. "Changes?"

"Yes," I say, nodding once. "Changes."

He raises his eyebrow at me again. "I'm intrigued, Yarrow," He says. "Tell me, what have you got up your sleeve?"

I sigh. "Tom, we've been...disagreeing for quite some time now, and I think it's time we ended that." I state. I have never wanted to drop dead more in my life than I do right now.

He raises his eyebrows at me, and I see a look of shock quickly pass over his face before disappearing as fast as it arrived. Of course he's surprised, I called him by his first name and I asked for a truce. There's probably no doubt in his mind that I've gone crazy, and honestly, I think I have.

"Come again?" He asks. Oh god, he's making me say it again. This is his way of making me angry, and believe me I want to get angry. But I won't get angry, I _can't_ get angry. Why? Because I now know for certain that the goddamn potion that David gave me works.

"I want to make a truce," I say, trying to limit my words as much as possible.

"A truce?" He says. "You want to make a truce with me?"

"Yes," I say with a nod. At least that's what I heard myself say.

"Let me get this straight," He says. "You want, after six years of rivalry, to make a truce with me?"

I'm thinking 'no' but I nod. "Yes," I say, and I hesitantly stick my hand out for him to shake. "I think that since we bring out the worst in each other, we can bring out the best in each other...as friends."

"_Friends_?" He asks, and I can tell he's either holding back a scoff or a laugh. "You want to be friends?"

"It's a new term, Tom," I say, still holding out my hand to him. "It's time to take up new habits." There's a moment of silence after that as he stares at me, and I bite my lip. "So...What do you say? Deal?"

He stares at my face for a moment before his eyes flicker down to my outstretched hand. I can't tell whether he sees through me or not, I can't tell if he knows I'm lying or mentally slapping myself a hundred times over. If he does see through me act, he doesn't show it, and he grabs my hand before giving it a firm, single shake.

"Deal," He says. "I believe that a change would be nice."

My jaw nearly drops. He actually agreed to it? I was hanging onto the last hope that he would say no and I wouldn't have to go through with it. But he said yes, and now I'm friends with Tom Riddle. _What have I done?_

"Okay," I say, nodding my head and shaking myself out of my shock as I take my hand from him. "Great."

I don't know what else to say. What can I say? I've hated this guy for six years and now he's my friend, somehow it was easier to start a conversation when he was my enemy. Wait, he still is my enemy, me being friends with him is only phase one of David's plan. This is all a plan, this is all an act. It's not real; I just have to start the same conversations I tried to when he was still my enemy. _Remember Valerie, real enemy, pretend friend._

There's a really long, and I'll admit awkward, silence as we start to walk again. Because there's no sound, I'm left to wonder whether or not Tom really believes me or not. It's actually becoming a scary thought now that I'm thinking about it more, and I quickly clear my throat in an effort to break the silence. It was a short, ineffective break, and I'm still stuck with my thoughts.

"So," I begin, trying my hand at conversation. "How are your classes coming?"

"Fine," He says with a shrug. "Yours?"

"Fine," I say. That ends the conversation, and there's another silence. Well, at least I tried. I made Tom my friend, at least, now David can't be on my case for not getting anywhere. I think I accomplished quite a bit for one night, and now I want to slam my head repeatedly into the brick wall over there.

"I must admit," Tom says. "I'm very surprised you wanted to become friends."

"I don't blame you," I chuckle dryly.

"What made you think differently, Yarrow?"

"It's like I said, Tom, it's a new term and it's time for new habits. Besides, we were acting like children with all our fighting. I just thought that it was time we grew up and start anew."

He raises an eyebrow at me before nodding once. "I agree, to new habits?" He sticks his hand out for me to shake.

I eye the hand warily for a moment before grabbing it and giving it a shake.

"To new habits."

* * *

**Sorry it's a bit short.**

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	9. Chapter Eight

**Sorry if this chapter is short and boring; I was half asleep when I wrote it.**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"He agreed _that_ quickly?" David says, staring at me in shock.

I nod as I stir my spoon around in my teacup. "I know, I'm surprised too. I would've thought he'd be more hesitant."

"So did I," He says, staring at his breakfast plate. "This...This is making me a bit uneasy."

I drop my jaw. "But David, this whole thing was your idea! I've already made friends with Tom, I'm in too deep to back out!"

"I never said you should back out," He exclaims loudly. Silence falls over the Great Hall as everyone turns their heads to look and David and I. He looks over his shoulder once before sighing and looking back at me. He leans down and lowers his voice. "I just think you should be a bit more careful on how you handle this situation."

"How careful?" I whisper, my eyes flickering to the blonde girl who walks behind me before flickering back to him.

"Watch what you say," He says. "Listen carefully to what he says, and be wary of where you're going if he asks to take you somewhere."

"David, the friendship's not that far along," I say. "It only happened last night and he still calls me 'Yarrow.' I doubt that anything will get anywhere for a long time."

"Still, when it _does_ get to the point when you have a chance of dating him-"

"Why do you have to remind me of that?"

"Because if I don't, you'll pretend like I never said it in the first place! Anyway, when it does get to that point, you have to be extremely cautious. I still don't trust him."

"Then why are you letting your little sister attempt to date him?"

"To save my other little sister from heartbreak," He replies and I sigh as I look at my teacup. He shakes his head. "Emily can't handle something like that, she's so fragile and she's so naive! She's much too naive for her own good if she thinks that having a crush on Tom Riddle is a good idea."

"I've been thinking," I start hesitantly. "We're under the impression that Emily is just going to go after Riddle, but what if we're wrong? What if she doesn't do anything about it and it's just her crush, nothing more?"

He shakes his head. "Oh no, you're not backing out on me now. You said it yourself, the friendship's in progress, you're in too deep to get out."

"I never said I was getting out," I snap. Again the Great Hall silences and everyone turns their heads to look at David and I. Having unnecessarily loud outbursts in public must run in the family. Or we're both incredibly stressed out by all of this; it makes me wonder why we're even doing it. _Oh, right, for Emily._

"It was implied," David replies. "Just as Emily going after Riddle is implied. I know our sister, Valerie; she always tries to get what she wants. This time will be no different."

I sigh as I look up at him. "I'm going to have one hell of a year, aren't I?"

"It appears that way," He says, chuckling dryly. "Oh, I nearly forgot," He says, opening his bag and rummaging through it. He pulls out three crystal phials of clear liquid, and I instantly recognize it as the calming potion. "Since it worked so well last night, I made more."

I take the phials from him and glance at them before shoving two of them into my bag, still holding onto the third. I turn it over in my hand once before pulling off the cork and bringing the phial to my lips, downing every last drop of the potion. A wave of calm washes over me and I sigh as I hand the empty phial back to David.

"Okay, so you're good for eight hours," He says, putting the phial into his bag. "Remember to take another before your prefect duties tonight."

"I will," I nod.

I still wish this plan had never found his way into David's head. If it hadn't, I wouldn't be trying to get Tom Riddle to date me and waiting for him to break my heart just to set an example for Emily. In a way, this is her fault, if she had only listened to my rants about Tom maybe I wouldn't be in this situation right now. If she had listened, she would have known that Riddle was trouble. I warned her about him when she was in her first year, but obviously everything I said went in one ear and out the other. She's never been the best listener, but I had always hoped she'd come through when it was important.

I realize that I'm angry at Emily, but instead of ranting to David like I usually do, I keep my mouth shut. I have to admit, these calming potions do come in handy, I'm still angry, but I'm dealing with it in a different way than I usually do. I just have to keep setting goals for myself, that's all.

Goal one: Train myself to manage my anger without the potion.

Goal two: Make this whole Tom Riddle fiasco go as quickly and smoothly as possible.

* * *

I put some horned slugs into my cauldron, watching as the liquid goes from a deep brown to a murky green. My eyes flicker upwards and I watch Tom stir his cauldron in deep concentration. Yes, I'm sitting with him during potions and luckily for me we haven't talked much. Unfortunately for me, I have to strike up conversations with him if I want this friendship to go any further. In all honesty I don't, but in reality I have to.

"How's your potion coming?" I ask, tilting my head slightly.

Tom's eyes shoot up to me, and he smirks. "You know, with all these changes your making to your attitude towards me, I wouldn't be surprised if you've started to fancy me."

My eyes widen, and I can feel myself getting angry. He thinks I fancy him? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course he doesn't, this is just his way of trying to get a reaction out of me. He knows something's up, that's why he's doing this, he wants to prove that I'm up to something. I am up to something, but I'll never admit it to him. I'm not going to cause a scene either, even though I'm imagining myself slapping him hard across the face. He won't get a reaction out of me; I won't give him that satisfaction.

I bite my tongue. "I don't fancy you, Tom; I can assure you of that."

He chuckles. "I'm only teasing you, Yarrow. After all, that's what good friends do, don't they?"

Sure, that's what good friends do, but we're not really friends. I think he and I both know that, but I'll have to change his mind. "Right," I say, nodding once.

He smirks again as he looks back down at his potion.

"Well, isn't this a sight for sore eyes?" I hear Slughorn exclaim. I turn my head and I see him walking towards Tom and I, a grin on his face. "If it isn't my two best students!"

"Good day, Professor," Tom says, looking up at Slughorn.

"Good day, Tom," Slughorn says, nodding to him before turning to me. "Miss Yarrow."

"Hello, Professor," I say, smiling. "How are you today?"

"Well, my day has certainly brightened seeing my two best students working together! Mind you, I had to blink a few times," He chuckles.

I manage a fake smile and chuckle somewhat. "Yes, well, we thought it was time for a change."

"I must say, it's so nice that you have both put aside your rivalry and have adopted a much friendlier attitude with each other. Could I expect to see you both at my annual Halloween party next week?"

"Of course, Professor," Tom says. "We wouldn't miss it, would we, Yarrow?"

I shake my head. "Of course not."

"Splendid, splendid," Slughorn chuckles. "Just like every year, the dress code is formal, and be sure to bring a mask!" He says, shaking a finger at us before walking off to talk to his other students.

Tom studies my face for a moment before allowing his eyes to wander behind me. He stares for a moment before looking back down at his cauldron. "It seems we're being watched."

My eyebrows furrow and I turn my head around. I see Keller behind me, and once he catches my gaze he immediately looks down into his cauldron. I know exactly why he's watching Tom and I, David asked him to. In a way, I feel relieved that someone's watching this entire situation, but I also feel irritated that my brother doesn't trust me enough to know that I know what I'm doing. What's worse is he's having Keller spy on me, and in my opinion that guy is an utter creep.

"He's your brother's right-hand man, is he not?" Tom asks quietly, making sure Keller can't hear him.

"I think 'monkey' is a better word for it," I say quietly, turning my head to Tom.

"Any idea as to why he's watching us?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shake my head. "It's in his nature to be a rat," I say. "Though I'm pretty sure his nature is going to get him locked up in Azkaban one day."

He only smirks at me before looking back down at his cauldron, and I sigh as I look over my shoulder at Keller.

I'm going to have to have a talk with David about this.

* * *

"I only did it to make sure you were alright," David says. "I wasn't there to see if anything happened."

"We we're in _class_, David," I say. I'm angry and I'd normally be yelling at him, but that calming potion I took this morning hasn't worn off yet. "There was a teacher standing less than a foot away from us. _Nothing_ would have happened!"

"I was only trying to protect you," He says.

"But you know how much Keller creeps me out," I say. I think this argument would be much more effective if I could yell, but I can't.

"I know," He says, adjusting his bag over his shoulder. "But he's the only guy in this entire school whose willing to do my dirty work, the rest are taken by Riddle."

I roll my eyes. "Well, I-"

"Hey David, hey Valerie," I female voice says, and Marie soon enters my vision. She latches on to David's arm and kisses his cheek. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh no, we're fine," David says.

"Oh good," She says, and she turns her head to me. "How are your classes coming, Val?"

"They're fine," I say, nodding. "Yours?"

"They're great! Except for Potions, I've never been good at that. Doesn't matter, David's invited me to that Halloween party Slughorn's throwing next week. Do you have a date?"

I shake my head. "I usually just go alone."

"Didn't you go with Malfoy last year?" She asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "But I'm not going back down that road again."

"You could always invite Riddle," David says.

Marie throws her head back and laughs. "Right, David! Like Valerie would ever do that!"

I send David a glare and sigh. "Actually we're friends now."

Marie's laughter stops and she looks at me in shock. "But you hate him."

I shrug. "I thought it was time we changed our ways, and he agreed. Though I'm not sure he'd come to Slughorn's party with me, he's already been invited on his own."

"You know, now that I actually think about it," Marie says. "You and Tom would actually look nice together." I get a look of horror on my face before I can stop it, and she chuckles. "Don't look at me like that, I said you'd _look_ nice together, it doesn't mean you would do well together."

I roll my eyes, and she laughs.

"Besides," She says. "No offense to you, but I don't think this friendship will last very long."

I totally agree with her, but I can't say that. "You don't?"

"Well, yeah," She says, shrugging. "Don't get me wrong, but I just think that you can't just throw six _years _of rivalry and become friends, Val. It's a pretty hard thing to do, especially since you're so stubborn."

I scoff. "You've been spending _way_ too much time with David, Marie."

She smiles and looks at him. "It's what I get, I guess." He smiles back at her before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers, and I start to gag as the kiss starts to drag on and become more passionate.

"Okay," I say, adjusting my bag over my shoulder. "I'm going now. Try not to swallow each other."

* * *

**You know, I've noticed that even though Emily is a crucial character in this story, she doesn't make an appearance a lot. She's mentioned tons of times, but I hardly ever have scenes with her in them. I'm gonna have to change that.**

**Please review!**


	10. Chapter Nine

**I had some time to type this up yesterday so I thought I'd give you guys an update!  
**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"Where is it?" I ask out loud, rummaging through my trunk. "I could've sworn I packed it!"

"What are you looking for?" Serene asks, looking up from her book.

"My mask," I reply. "I need it for tomorrow."

"Did you leave it at home?"

"I must have," I say, closing my trunk. "And it's too late to write my mum to ask her to send it to me. Do you have a mask I could borrow?"

"Sorry," She says.

I sigh. "Do you think Liz has one?"

"I doubt it," She shrugs. "Liz's never been a huge fan of Halloween."

I sigh as I sit on my bed.

"You could ask your sister," Serene suggests, looking back to her book. "Maybe she's got one."

I don't want to talk to Emily, but I need a mask. "That's not a bad idea," I say, standing up. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," She calls after me as I walk out of our dorm.

I walk quickly to Emily's dorm, I just to get there and back as soon as possible. The door is closed, so I have a moment of inner debate on whether or not I should knock on the door. My calming potion would've worn off a couple hours ago, and since I'm off duty tonight I haven't taken another one. I may snap at her, and there will be nothing to stop me. Sighing, I raise my hand and knock tentatively on the door.

I'm hoping no one answers, but to my dismay Emily does and she smiles when she sees me.

"Oh hey, Val," She says. "What's up?"

"Hey, Emily," I manage to get out, trying to hide my unease. "I was just wondering if you had a mask I could borrow?"

"For Slughorn's party tomorrow?" She asks, tilting her head.

"Yeah," I nod.

"Well, I'm going too," She says. "But I think I have a spare one, I'll go look." She turns around and walks over to her trunk, leaning down to open it.

I step into the room. "Thanks," I say as she pulls out a purple mask embroidered with gold flowers. "I could've sworn I packed mine."

"You mean the blue one that has the gold embroidery and patches of music sheets?" She asks, handing me the mask.

"Yeah, I probably left it at home," I say, shrugging. I'm getting over my unease; maybe that potion really is training me.

"Pity," She says. "That was a nice one. Anyways, are you taking someone to Slughorn's party?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I'm going alone, but I know tons of people there so it won't really matter."

She nods. "I'm taking someone."

"Really? Who?"

"Tom Riddle."

My eyes widen and I feel like I've been slapped across the face. _Tom Riddle?_ "What?" I ask. Maybe I didn't hear her right, maybe ever since I learned that she fancies Tom Riddle all I can think about when I see her is him.

"Tom Riddle," She repeats. No, I heard her right. I feel anger bubbling up inside of me, and I know that at any minute I may explode.

"You're taking Tom Riddle?" I ask, trying to clarify. Oh my god, David was right; Emily would try to make a move on Tom.

"Yeah, he was already going anyways, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Well, why do you want to go with him?"

"Well, I, uh, heard about you and him becoming friends, so I thought it would be nice if we all became friends. That way we can all spend time together," She says. That's what she said, but really she's saying 'I fancy Tom so I asked him to Slughorn's party.'

"Oh," I say. I'm going to snap at any moment, I can feel it. I'm going to ruin everything David and I have put into place. "That's, uh, great. Anyways," I say, moving to turn around. "I've got to go."

"See you later," She says as I make it to the door.

I look back and manage a small smile at her. "Yeah, see you later." I walk out of the room as fast as I can after that, practically running back to my dorm.

She asked him to the party, and he said yes. Is this Tom's way of making me angry, or worse? Does he have an attraction to her? I have to work harder; I have to make this plan go quicker than I had hoped. I've got to get Tom's attention off of Emily and onto me. But I have to do it in my own way, I can't tell David what Emily's just told me, he'll have me work harder than ever. I have to work hard, but I have to do it my way.

I can't let my brother interfere.

* * *

The chilly autumn air nips at my skin, and I wrap my coat tighter around me to keep out the cold. I sigh as I walk towards the lake, the autumn leaves crunching under my boots. I absent-mindedly kick a pile of orange and brown leaves, laughing as they fly up into the air and the wind blows them about. I've always loved autumn, it's not too hot and not too cold. It's probably good that I'm alone outside, it'll give me the time I need to think things through in a better mood than I would be if I was stuck in my dorm.

In the corner of my eye, I see someone sitting at the base of a tree, and I turn my head towards them. It's Tom. He doesn't see me, he's too busy reading his book and eating his apple to notice I'm standing a few feet away from him. Now is probably a good time to talk to him, we're alone and I don't think very many people are going to come out by the lake when it's this cold out.

I turn my body slightly as I open my bag and rummage through it, successfully pulling out a phial of the calming potion. I still need it, especially now after he said yes to going to the party with Emily. I could kill him for that, but as soon as that thought enters my mind I'm reminded about why I need the potion. I pull off the cork and quickly down the liquid, stuffing the empty phial into my bag as I walk over to Tom.

He must've heard the leaves crunching under my feet, because he darts his head up to look at me as I get closer to him.

"Afternoon, Tom," I say, smiling slightly at him. I want to chew him out for saying yes to Emily, but I can't, so I won't. "Can I sit with you?"

He eyes me for a moment before moving over slightly and making room for me.

"Thanks," I say, sitting down. "So are you excited for tonight's party?" I ask.

"As excited as I can be, Yarrow," He says, folding a corner of the page of his book and closing it.

"I heard that you're taking my sister as your date," I say, biting my tongue.

He doesn't smirk, but he might as well have. I can see a look of victory in his eyes, he knows I'm upset. "Yes," He says. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no problem," I say, shaking my head. I'm lying, he knows it, I know it. But I can still deny it. "I just never knew you and Emily were that close."

"She asked me," He shrugs, biting into his apple. "I didn't have a date so I thought I might as well."

"When did she ask you?" I ask as casually as I can. I don't want him to know that this is valuable information to me, or else he won't give it to me.

He raises an eyebrow at me, and I try to keep my composure "Two days ago, actually," He finally answers. "A bit last minute, but I was going to the party anyways." I nod and look out at the lake. "Do you have a date?" He asks me, and I shoot my head back to him.

I'm about to answer 'no' when a plan hatches in my mind. "Actually, yes," I say. "Keller."

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Keller? The same Keller you referred to as 'monkey' and 'rat?'"

"That's the one," I nod. Keller's not my date, but he's going to be soon. I need him to do what he does best, get me information. The only way I can get him into the party, however, is by having him come as my date. I'm doing a lot of things I don't want to do this year, I deserve an award.

"I never thought you'd take a liking to Keller," He says. "Let alone ask him to be your date."

"Well, it's like what I did with you," I explain. "I didn't like you, and now we're friends. I didn't like Keller, and now he's my date. I plan to do a lot of maturing this year."

"That's an interesting plan, Yarrow," He says.

I raise my eyebrow at him. "Why do you still call me 'Yarrow,' Tom? You trust me, don't you?"

An unreadable look crosses his face, and I mentally smirk. There, I've laid down the law. He can either tell me the truth right now, or we can continue on with this little chess game we're playing. I realize that we both get something out of the end of this; I get to show Emily that Tom's no good, and Tom gets to think he fooled me. It's a yes or a no, there's no way out of this. I have him cornered, and I feel victorious.

He smiles slightly at me. "Of course, Valerie."

I smile at him. He's lying, he knows it, I know it. Looks like this is going to continue.

"Good."

* * *

"I can't believe I have to pay you for this," I say, handing Keller ten galleons. "I'm your best friend's sister. Can't you cut me a break?"

"Hey, I'm risking my reputation here," He says, stuffing the galleons into his pocket. "I've got to get _some_ payoff."

"What reputation? That you're an expensive creep?"

"Watch it," He says. "I know a lot of things about you that could get spread around."

I let out an annoyed huff. "Whatever. Do you remember what you have to do?"

He sighs. "Find out what Emily and Tom say to each other, figure out if they plan on seeing each other again, and see if Tom has an attraction to her or is just trying to irritate you."

"Good," I say, nodding once. "You have an excellent memory."

"Why do you even want me to do this anyway?" He asks as he puts on his mask.

I bite my lip. He doesn't know my plan, I'll have to lie. "Well, his is Emily's first date and I, uh, want to make sure that everything-"

He holds his hand up to silence me. "Relax, David already told me what you two are doing." I let out a breath of relief. "But he failed to mention that Emily was going with Tom to this party tonight."

I let out an annoyed huff. "That's because he doesn't know, and I don't plan on telling him."

"And what makes you think I won't?"

"How much more do you want?"

"Five."

I sigh as I reach into my clutch and hand him five more galleons. "I'm going to be bankrupt by the end of this."

He inspects the galleons before giving an approving nod and stuffing them into his pocket. "You ready to go in?"

I sigh as I put on my mask. "As I'll ever be." I grab his arm and link it to mine as we walk towards the party.

We enter a room decorated with pumpkins and bats, everyone around us dressed in formal gowns, tuxedos, and different coloured masks. A man in a burgundy coloured plague doctor's mask walks over to me and Keller, and I instantly know he's Slughorn.

"Good evening, Professor," I say as he stops in front of us. "Lovely party."

"Ah, Miss Yarrow," He says, chuckling. "Yes, I thought it was you. I'm surprised you recognized me! Oh, and you've brought along...Kendler? Ah yes, Kendler!"

"Keller, sir," Keller corrects.

"Ah yes, well, enjoy the party," Slughorn says, ignoring Keller as he looks at me. "I believe your sister's already here. Though, I don't quite remember what mask she is..."

"Oh, that's fine," I say, starting to walk away, pulling Keller along with. "I'm sure I'll find them." I pull Keller into an empty corner and sigh. "Okay, you go look for Emily and Tom, come back here when you find them."

"And what are you going to do?" He asks.

"Hey, who paid who here?" I ask. "I'll be standing right here the whole night, so once you have some information _please_ come back and tell me."

He sighs before walking off, and I lose sight of him once he joins the crowd. I sigh as I grab as glass of punch off the table nearby, sipping it lightly. Just as I put the now empty jump back down on the table, a hand grabs my arm and pulls me behind a curtain. I quickly shake myself out of my daze to see David staring at me, holding his mask in his hand.

"Emily's come here with Riddle," He says. "When I asked her why she didn't tell anyone, she said she told you. Now I want to know why you didn't tell me!"

"Because I knew you'd flip out," I defend.

"Well, why didn't you realize that I would've found out tonight anyway?"

"Because you never come to these things, David. You can't honestly expect me to remember that you've suddenly decided to come to parties."

"That still doesn't answer my question on why you didn't tell me."

"I already told you! I didn't tell you because I knew you'd flip out and I wanted to handle it myself."

"And how _exactly_ are you handling it?" He asks, crossing his arms.

"I didn't get mad at her, or him," I say, holding my finger up. "And I'm having Keller spy on them."

He rolls his eyes as he lets out an annoyed huff. "What that bastard won't do for a couple of galleons..."

I sigh. "How did you even know I was me? I'm in a mask."

"I recognize that dress," He replies, gesturing to my gown. "You got that from Cécile for your birthday last year."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I-"

"David?" The curtain opens and I see a blonde girl in a light blue dress wearing a white, feathered mask. She looks from David to me. "Who's this?" I recognize her voice, it's Marie.

I quickly take off my mask and smile at her. "Me. Hey Marie."

She smiles. "Oh, hey Valerie!" She looks over at David. "Why are the two of you here?"

"Just a private conversation," He says, and he pulls on his mask.

She chuckles and shakes her head. "Come on, David," She says, grabbing his arm. "Let's go get some punch."

I sigh as the two walk away, and I step out from behind the curtain and put on my mask. I see a man in a black plague doctor's mask and I can only guess that it's Keller since that's the mask he was wearing. Then again, there are about three different boys here with that exact same mask.

"Keller?" I ask as he stops at me.

"You got it," He says.

I sigh. "Well, what happened?"

"First off, your sister's the one in the red dress and white mask with the huge feather," He says, pointing to her. I can see her talking to a tall boy in a black mask.

"I'm guessing that's Tom then?" I ask, gesturing my head towards him.

"Sure is," Keller says.

"Okay, so what happened?"

"I have good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" I ask, clamping my eyes shut.

"Emily's _very_ into Tom," He says. "She's an amazing flirt." He's right, that's bad news. First she fancies Tom and now she's good at flirting, I sometimes hate my sister.

"What's the good news?" I ask.

"Tom doesn't seem interested in her at the slightest," He says. I let out a huge breath of relief. That's a ton of weight off my shoulders. "But Emily's really persistent and charming, so there's a possibility that-"

"Don't finish that sentence," I cut him off, holding up my hand. "I'm _not_ going to let that happen."

"Then you've got to act quickly," He says.

I sigh. "I know." I turn my head to look at Emily and Tom, and I scowl as she giggles. I turn my head back to Keller and hold out my hand. "Oh, and David knows about Emily and Tom. Give me back five galleons."

* * *

**Yeah, that was a rubbish ending.**

**Anyway, I would be so happy if you guys gave me a review!**


	11. Chapter Ten

**I just want to thank you guys for your support! To be honest with you guys, I didn't expect the response I got when I started this story. The Harry Potter category is so big I thought that about only ten people would read my story, but I was obviously proven wrong.**

**Again, thank you guys so much. You honestly rock XOXO**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"You know," Keller says as I hand him ten galleons. I swear I'm not going to have a galleon to my name by the end of the school year. "I'm starting to think you're a bit jealous of Emily and Tom."

I scoff. "What?"

"Well, you seem very keen on getting Tom and Emily away from each other."

"That's because I don't want Emily to get hurt," I say, hitting him on the arm. "Look, if you're going to give me grief about this then give me my money back and I'll take my business elsewhere!"

"Not so fast," He says, raising his hands. "I'm not going to let ten galleons for snooping get away from me."

"Then don't make me angry," I say. "I haven't had my potion today."

He raises and eyebrow at me before sighing. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Emily and her friends are going to Hogsmeade today," I say. "I need you to follow them and see what they're saying about last night's party."

"Not that I'm not going to do it," He says. "But why can't you do it yourself? Isn't girl talk something you're genetically born with?"

I roll my eyes. "I can't. Tom's going to Hogsmeade and I plan to bump into him there and spend the day with him. I can't keep my eye on both Emily and Tom at the same time."

He shrugs. "Fine by me, I get paid either way."

"I know," I say, sending him a glare. "So does my purse."

"Your purse?" I hear a female voice say behind me. I whirl around and my eyes widen. It's Emily.

"Emily," I say, failing to keep from sounding panicked. "How long have you been standing there?" I pray she just came, if she heard the entire conversation I might as well be killed now.

"Just since Keller said he gets paid either way," She says. A flood of relief washes through me, and I relax. "What does he mean by that, anyway?" She asks, tilting her head. "Valerie, are you _paying_ him?"

I'm stuck, I can't just deny it, she has too much evidence. "Uh...Yeah, I am."

"What for?" She asks, looking at me like I've gone insane.

"Um, for, uh, getting some information for me on Liz's new boyfriend!"

She raises an eyebrow at me. "Why? Do you think he's a cad?"

"Yeah," I nod quickly. That was a terrible lie, but then again I'm a terrible liar.

"Well, okay," She says. She still thinks I've lost my mind, and she's probably right. "I'll see you later then."

"Bye," I say quickly. She walks away, shooting me a weird look as she walks past. I sigh in relief as she gets out of earshot and turn to Keller. "Okay, now you have to be _extremely_ careful when you get my information. Make sure she doesn't see you."

"When have I ever been seen?" He asks.

"Actually, I've seen you spying on me loads of times. I just don't confront you about it because there's no hope for you."

"You just say what's on your mind, don't you? You don't even bother to sugar-coat it."

"Most of the time, yes."

* * *

"I'm surprised you want to spend your day at Hogsmeade with me," Tom says, walking with me through the village.

"Well, it's sometimes nice to get away from my friends," I say, my hands in my coat pockets. "It makes room for new conversations."

He raises an eyebrow. "You're being very open-minded, Yarrow. It's almost worrying."

"How so?" I ask. Wait, did he just call me 'Yarrow?' _Damn. _He still doesn't trust me. He probably got suspicious when I said I was bringing Keller to last night's party. I've got to fix that. This plan _has_ to work, I've taken my potion and I've got Tom to walk around Hogsmeade with me. Everything's in place and I can't afford for anything to screw up. I just can't.

"For years I've seen you as the hard-headed, high-tempered girl who disliked me just as much as I disliked her. But now, you've completely changed."

"Are you questioning my sanity?" I joke, raising my eyebrow at him.

"A bit, Yarrow."

"I thought you weren't going to call me 'Yarrow' anymore," I say, looking at him.

He smirks. "My apologies, Valerie. Old habits die hard."

I smile and turn my head to look at the Three Broomsticks. "Hey, do you want to get a butterbeer? I'm a bit thirsty."

He raises an eyebrow at the pub, debating whether or not to go in. "Alright," He finally says. "Lead the way." I smile at him and we walk over to the Three Broomsticks, and he holds open the door for me.

"Thanks," I say as I walk in, and he only nods in response.

The air in the pub is smoky and it adds to the crowded atmosphere. It takes Tom and I a bit of time to find a table, but we finally do. I take off my coat and hang it on the back of my chair as a waiter comes to take our order.

"Two butterbeers, please," Tom says as he sits down across from me. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out some galleons.

"Oh, I can pay," I say, reaching for my purse.

"No need," He says, handing the waiter the money. "I've got it."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. He's paying? That's what a gentleman would do. Then I remember that he puts on an act of charm, there's no doubt his chivalry comes with that. "Oh, okay," I say, nodding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," He says, turning to look at me.

"So," I say, tilting my head. "While we're waiting, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

He raises an eyebrow at me. "You want to know about _my_ life?"

"Well, yes," I say, placing my hands in front of me. "We're becoming friends yet we hardly know anything about each other. Not exactly the best start to a new friendship, I would think."

He leans forwards and rests his hands in front of him. "I'm more curious about your life," He says. "I assume it's far more interesting than mine."

A red flag immediately goes up. I can't just back out of it now, I have to tell him _something_. I just can't reveal any information that's _too_ personal, I don't want this conversation coming back to haunt me later. His eyebrow is still raised at me expectantly and I press my lips into a thin line under his gaze. I still say it's a good thing I have that calming potion, or else I'd probably be glaring at him for staring at me.

"Well," I say, shrugging. "My life's pretty normal; it's not really that interesting to me. My dad has a high up job in the Ministry of Magic." There, that's not too personal. Anyone who's read the Daily Prophet knows what my dad does.

He raises an eyebrow at me, looking intrigued. "Really? What does he do?"

"He works very closely with the Minister of Magic," I say. "He's not home much, so I don't really get to ask a lot of questions."

"That's a shame," He says, looking at me. "Having such a high ranked job you'd think he'd get more time off than the average Ministry worker."

"He actually has to do more work than all of them combined," I say, chuckling lightly. "It doesn't really matter to me much, anyway. I'm always here for school so even if he was home I wouldn't get to see him much. It's been like this since I was little, I've never really minded. Growing up, I always had my nose in one of my mother's old books and didn't notice because I was kind of lost in my own little world."

"Valerie Yarrow lost in her own world?" He says, raising his eyebrows. "I find that hard to believe."

I chuckle. "I was mostly dreaming about when I finally got to come to Hogwarts. I was so jealous when my brother went before, I hardly spoke to him during the holidays I was so spiteful."

"Now that I believe."

"It is more in tune with my character, isn't it?"

"Very much so," He says. He looks behind me and squints slightly. "Isn't that Keller?"

My blood runs cold. If Keller's here, that means Emily is too. Sure enough, I hear a girl's voice laughing behind me, but I don't turn around. It's Emily and her friends. I was hoping I wouldn't run into them, that way Emily couldn't pry into what I was doing. I pray she doesn't notice me; hopefully the pub is too crowded and smoky for her to spot me here. I also hope that waiter gets back here soon, the sooner I get my butterbeer the sooner I can leave with Tom unnoticed.

In the corner of my eye, I see the waiter walking towards our table with a tray of two butterbeers and a small amount of relief floods through me. I'm not in the clear yet though, I've still got to drink it and escape the pub without Emily or her friends noticing. I smile at the waiter in thanks as he places my cup in front of me, and Tom nods politely to him.

I immediately pick up my cup and bring it to my lips, drinking the liquid greedily. Tom watches me, sipping on his butterbeer instead of inhaling it like I am.

"You seem anxious," He notes, raising an eyebrow at me.

I stop midway through my drink and remove the cup from my mouth. "Do I?"

"Yes," He nods. He's eying me suspiciously, and I know I've got to think of something to cover my tracks quickly.

"I'm just _really_ thirsty," I say, and I bring my cup back to my lips and down the rest of my drink. I sigh as it's finished off, and I place the empty cup on the table. I look at Tom and find him smirking at me, taking a sip out of his cup. "What?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

He chuckles lightly. "You've got butterbeer on your upper lip."

My hand flies to my mouth and I use my tongue to lick off the drink. "Oops," I say. "Should've paid more attention."

He shakes his head. "There's still some there." He picks up a napkin that sits on the table. "Use this," He says, handing it to me.

"Thanks," I say, taking it from him and wiping my mouth.

He smirks at me. "Next time we have butterbeer I'll be sure to bring more napkins, one might not be enough if you keep drinking like that."

I hear laughter, and it takes me a moment to register that it's coming out of my mouth. I'm laughing at Tom's joke even though it's aimed at me. _Merlin, that potion is a miracle worker. _Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Emily looking over at the two of us, and my stomachs sinks. I make it look like I haven't seen her, but I know she sees me, and I can see the unreadable expression on her face as she watches me as I continue to laugh.

I can tell she's hurt and jealous, because she probably thinks we're on a date.

I have to admit, it looks that way, doesn't it?

* * *

"So what did she say?" I ask Keller as I walk over to him in the empty Common Room.

He sighs. "Most of the trip consisted of her going on and on to her friends about clothes and whatnot."

"And what else?" I urge. I need to know Emily's conversations. Oh my god, I'm snooping on my sibling's life. I'm turning into David.

"Well, once they got to the Three Broomsticks," He says. "The conversation quickly turned into them wondering what you and Tom were saying. They think you two were on a date or something like that, and Emily's not happy about it."

I sigh. "Well, look, I'm not putting it past Emily to have her ask you to snoop for her. If she asks, do _not_ accept her offer. No matter how much money she pays you."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "You actually think she'll come to me? She looked like she was about to vomit when she found out you were paying me."

"That doesn't matter," I say. "If Emily has an opportunity, she'll take it."

"She's like me then," He says. "If she offers me enough money, I _will_ accept her offer whether you like it or not."

"But-"

"Ah, nope. No use in trying to make me do otherwise. This is strictly business."

"Look, I'll pay any amount if you promise me you won't accept her offer if she asks."

"Five hundred?"

"Five hundred galleons? My mother would never give me that kind of money!"

"Then I can't promise you anything."

I let out an annoyed huff. "Is there anything _else_ you want? Anything at all?"

He thinks about it for a moment before responding. "That Serene friend of yours is quite attractive."

"And?" I ask hesitantly. I don't like where this is going, I really don't like where this is going at all.

"And it would be really great if I had the chance to date her," He says.

I sigh. My head's screaming for me to get a grip, I can't just put my best friend into this. "Fine," I say. Apparently I don't care about Serene. "If you promise you won't help Emily, I'll get you a date with Serene." _Oh god, I'm an awful friend._

He smiles. Of course he's smiling; he's getting what he wants. "I believe we have a deal."

"Great," I say, crossing my arms. "Now, will you please go away? I need to think about how I just gambled with my best friend."

He chuckles as he walks into the boys' dormitory, and just as he disappears Emily enters the Common Room. I want to run to my room because I know by the look in her eye that she's going to bombard me with an endless amount of questions.

"Hi, Emily," I say tentatively, looking at her.

"Hey, Val," She says, walking over to me. "So I saw you at the Three Broomsticks with Tom today."

"Yeah, that was me."

"Oh, well, did you have fun?"

"I did actually."

"That's good...So...What did you two talk about? If you don't mind my asking."

Emily's not to good at this, even an idiot would know she's trying to fish information out of me. "Nothing, really," I say, choosing to remain vague with my answers. "We just got to know each other a bit better, that's all."

She nods. "You know, from where I was sitting, it almost looked as if the two of you were on a date."

"Oh?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," She says. "It looked a lot like that." She pauses before speaking again. "He didn't ask you on a date, did he?"

The words escape my mouth before I can stop them. "What if he did?"

She looks slightly taken aback and flustered by this question. "Oh, uh, well, I'm just curious. A little sister always wants to know if something's going on in her big sister's life, especially if that something is getting a boyfriend."

I shake my head. "Tom isn't my boyfriend."

A look of relief and happiness finds its way to her face, and she does a lousy job at trying to cover it up. "No?"

I shake my head again. "No, he isn't."

"Oh, well, I guess I was mistaken then," She says. "Anyway, I've got to go. Talk to you later." With that, she quickly rushes into the girl's dormitory, a bounce in her step. I sigh as I watch her leave. No doubt she's gone to tell her friends that I'm not dating Tom and she can still have a go at him. She's probably already imagining what she would wear on her first date with him. I can't let that first date happen.

I've got to take Tom Riddle off the market.

Quickly.

* * *

**Things are getting a bit more dramatic! I've always loved writing drama.**

**Anyways, if you guys review I would love you forever and I would genuinely have a smile on my face for the rest of the day!**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Thirty-one reviews? Wow, thank you so much guys! You seriously rock! XOXO**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"David," I say, walking up to him in the corridor. "I need more of that potion. I ran out during prefect duties last night."

He turns around to look at me. "Oh, okay," He says somewhat awkwardly and he reaches into his bag, rummaging through it until he pulls out two phials of the potion. "It's all I have with me at the moment, I'm afraid," He says. "I'll try to get more for you later."

"It's okay," I say, nodding. "It's enough to last me for now."

"I've been meaning to ask," He says, handing me the phials. "Have you gotten to the point where you don't need the potion anymore?"

"Why do you ask?" I say, raising an eyebrow as I stuff one phial into my bag.

"It's just that you can't take it forever," He says. "Sooner or later the effects aren't going to affect you anymore, then the potion will be useless."

"I know I can't have it forever," I say, opening the other phial. "I haven't been taking it for _that_ long, David. I just don't trust myself enough yet to talk to Tom without the potion. I'll get there, don't worry."

"Fine," He says, crossing his arms. "Speaking of Tom, how is everything? Moving along alright?"

"Well, a few weeks ago we went to Hogsmeade together," I tell him, shifting from foot to foot. "And since then we've been talking more during our prefect duties."

"That's all?"

"No, we also talk in the Great Hall and sit beside each other during some of our classes."

He sighs. "I was hoping for a bit more than that."

"Hey," I say, quickly downing my potion before stuffing the empty phial into my bag. Funny, it tastes a bit different. I'm probably just accustomed to the taste now. "I'm doing my best. I was hoping for more progress than that too, but I have to go slow with Tom. He's got at spotting when something isn't right."

"Well, you have to go a bit faster," He says, crossing him arms. "Keller told me how Emily thought the two of you were on a date. That's going to want to make her try harder to get to Tom before you do."

"Yes, but I already told her that it wasn't a date. I've got this under control, David, don't worry."

"Still, if she sees you and Tom getting friendlier she might not take your word for it anymore."

"It'll be okay, David. Tom's in the library right now and I plan to talk to him then."

"Flirt with him," He says.

I'm taken aback by this, and I stare at him in shock. "What?"

"We have to make this move faster," He tells me. "You need to flirt with him."

"But I don't know how to flirt with him!" I protest. I'm aware I need to get things moving, but I need to do it on my own terms.

"Hogwash, I've seen you flirt with Malfoy before," He says.

"But that's not what I said," I say. "I said I don't know how to flirt with _Tom_. He's different than the other guys around here, David."

"Then just act like you know what you're doing," He says.

I raise my eyebrow at him. "Come again?"

"Pretend like you know exactly what you're doing," He repeats.

"How is that _any_ different than me _actually_ knowing what the hell I'm doing?"

"Look, it's a plan," He says, staring at me. "Take it or leave it."

I sigh and place a hand on my hip. "Fine."

"Good," He says, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "Anyways, I've got to get to Quidditch practice. Oh, by the way, you should try to get Tom to come with you to the next game." He says, starting to walk away.

"Why?" I ask, turning to watch him leave.

"It's an opportunity," He says, and he turns a corner down the hall.

I sigh and cross my arms.

"Valerie Margret Anastasia Yarrow!" I hear a female voice call my full name. _That's never good._ I turn around and see Serene storming towards me, Elizabeth trailing close behind her.

"What is it, Serene?" I ask as she stops in front of me.

She points a finger at me. "You set me up on a date with Keller, and you didn't even think about telling me!"

Elizabeth giggles and we both look at her. "I'm sorry; I just think this is hilarious."

I turn back to Serene. I did forget to tell her about her date with Keller, that's not good. "Look, I'm sorry," I say, raising my hands in defense.

"You're damn right you're sorry!" She exclaims. "Do you realize how shocked and _disgusted_ I was when Keller walked up to me, told me we were going to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop and that I should wear something pretty?"

I bite my lip. She probably vomited a hundred times over before she came to confront me. "I can only imagine."

"Well, what makes you think I'd want to go out on a date with him?"

"Calm down, Serene," Elizabeth says. "You're completely out of character with your name."

Serene turns her head to look at her and scowls. "Not exactly the best time, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth chuckles and raises her hands in defense. "I'm just saying that there's no need to get upset. I actually think you and Keller would be a nice match."

Serene's jaw drops in horror, and it takes everything I have to hold in my laughter. Keller and Serene? _Please._ I only set them up because I need to make sure Emily doesn't use Keller to interfere with my plan. Unfortunately, a date with Serene was the only deal I was able to make.

Serene turns back to me. "See what you've started?"

"Look, I had to do something," I say. "I needed to make a deal with Keller and since I didn't have enough money on me. He said he'd make the deal with me if I got you to go on a date with him. I was desperate, Serene, I had to do it!"

"So you just _traded_ me?"

"Please, Serene," I say. "I'm begging you. I've helped you with your homework loads of times, the least you could do is do this one thing for me."

She sighs in defeat. "When you put it like that I guess I have to. But I'm _not_ happy about it."

"I never said you had to be," I say, shaking my head. "And I'll never expect you to be."

She lets out an irritated sigh, adjusting her bag on her shoulder "Alright then, I guess I'm going on a date with Keller."

"Ooh," Elizabeth says mockingly, and we turn to look at her. "Serene's got a boyfriend." This is not the time for her to be teasing Serene; it'll only make everything worse for me. Actually, I don't think things can get any worse for me at all, I'm pretty sure I hit rock bottom weeks ago.

"Shut up, Liz!" Serene snaps, glaring at her. She turns back to me. "But I'm only doing it on one condition."

"What?" I say, raising my eyebrows in shock. "You can't just agree to it and then say you'll only do it on a condition."

"Hey, you dragged me into whatever you're doing," She says. "It's the least you could do." She's mocking me with the exact words I used on her. _Damn._

I sigh. "Fine. What is it?" I'm almost afraid to ask, but I have to.

"You have to come."

"What? What do you mean I have to come?"

"You have to come and bring a date! The only way I'll go on this date with Keller is if you come along and make it a double-date."

"I can't do that, Serene! I don't have a boyfriend or anyone who'll just suddenly date me out of the blue!"

"Then you'll have to find one," She says, crossing her arms. "If I go down, you're going down with me. This was your plan anyway. No matter, do we have a deal?"

I sigh reluctantly. I've been making rubbish deals lately, but I need to or else my plan is out the window.

"Deal."

* * *

I walk around the seemingly endless rows of books in search for Tom; so far I haven't found him. Strange, I'm sure I heard him say to Avery that he would be coming here today to study. Did I hear him wrong? My doubts are soon dismissed as I see Tom in the far corner of the room, sitting at a table near the Restricted Section. I adjust my bag on my shoulder and walk over to him, and must have heard my footsteps as he looks up.

"Good afternoon, Valerie," He says.

"Good afternoon, Tom," I say, flashing him a smile. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all," He says, gesturing to the empty chair beside him. "Be my guest."

I flash him another smile as I sit down, taking my bag off and placing it at my feet. "Is your day going alright?" I ask, striking up our usual conversations.

"It is," He says. "And yours?"

"Mine's going alright as well," I reply. My eyes wander down to his hand, and I notice a ring. He just started wearing it this year, which explains why it captures my attention. "Where did you get that ring?" I ask, tilting my head.

He raises his eyebrow at me as he glances downward at his hand. "It's an heirloom," He says simply.

For a moment I think he's going to continue talking, but he doesn't. Usually when someone says something is an heirloom they go into a huge story about how it came to their family and how it was passed down from generation to generation. Tom's doing the opposite of that; he's completely silent. I've always thought him different from the other boys in our year, so I'm not _that_ surprised by his silence.

"It's nice," I say, still examining the ring from my chair.

"Thank you," He says, and he looks back down to his book.

There's a moment of silence between us before I speak up again. "Tom?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you would do me a little favour."

He raises an eyebrow at me, and I can tell he's debating my motives. "What sort of favour?"

"Well," I start. I'm debating whether or not I should actually ask this, it might be too early. "My friend is going on this date-"

"Which friend?" He asks.

I'm a bit taken aback by this at first, then I realize that it's a valid question. "Serene," I say. "You know, the Slytherin girl with the long, brown hair. She's in Herbology and History of Magic with us."

"I've seen her around," He says. "You were saying?"

"Oh, right," I say. "Anyways, she has to go on this date, but she'll only go if I come with her."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "Why can't she just go by herself? It is _her_ date."

_I know, but I brought this on myself. _I look at him, biting down on my lip a bit. "It's a long story."

"We have time," He says. That's his polite way of telling me he wants to hear more. Can I tell him more? Hell no, not unless I want to blow everything. I can't afford that now.

"Um, well, I set her up on the date and she didn't want to go, so I begged her to and this is the only way she will." There, that's partly the truth. I've figured out that as long as there's _some_ truth in what I say, Tom can't call me out for lying.

He smirks and raises an eyebrow at me. "I never thought of you as someone to play matchmaker. Taking up a new hobby?"

"You could say that."

"Just at a curiosity, who did you set Serene up with?"

"Keller."

"Keller?" He asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "It's no wonder she doesn't want to go."

"Yeah," I say, resting my chin in my hand. "I don't blame her either."

"Where do I come into all of this?" He asks, inspecting my face.

I sigh. "She needs it to be a double date, and unless I have a date, that's not happening."

He raises his eyebrows at me in surprise, not that I blame him. "So Valerie Yarrow is asking me on a date?" He asks, closing his book as he stares at me.

I stare back at him. Yes, that's what I heard myself do. "Yeah," I say with a nod. "But just as friends," I assure.

"Really?" He says. "I wouldn't think I'd be your first choice."

"Well," I start. "You're a good friend now and we just have to think of it as spending time together."

He raises an eyebrow at me before smirking. "Alright, I'll come with you."

I smile at him. That was easier than I expected. "Thanks, Tom; you have no idea how much that means to me." It means an awful lot; it means that everything's running smoothly and according to plan.

"Where are we going? If I might ask," He asks, looking at me.

_Damn, I still have to tell him that. _"Uh," I start, tapping my fingers on the table. "Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop."

He raises his eyebrows and I can tell he's holding back a laugh. "Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop? That's not exactly a place where friends go with friends."

It's not a place I'd go with my boyfriend either, let alone Tom Riddle. I shrug somewhat awkwardly. "Keller's choice, not mine."

"Very well," He says, and I can hear a hint of amusement in his voice. "When?"

"This Saturday," I say. "One o'clock?"

"Yes, that sounds fine."

"Great," I say, picking my bag off the floor. "Anyways, I've got to go," I say, standing up and putting my bag on my shoulder. "I'll see you later, then?"

Tom nods. "Of course."

* * *

"You did it!" I hear David exclaim.

I jump and whirl around on my heel to see David jogging towards me in the corridor. "Did what?" I ask as he stops in front of me. "David, what are you talking about?"

"You got Tom to go on a date with you!" He exclaims.

"_Shh!_" I hiss, darting my head around to look at the corridor. "What if Emily's in earshot?"

"Who cares?" He asks, rolling his eyes. "Everything's going exactly the way we planned it, and it's actually happening earlier than I expected."

I sigh. "How did you even find out?" I ask. "I haven't told anyone yet."

"Keller," He says simply.

I let out an exasperated sigh and shake my head. "He's everywhere..." I mutter, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. "Well, it's not actually a _date _per se."

"What do you mean it's not a date?" He asks, staring at me. "You're going to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop! Marie would have to cast some wicked enchantment to get me to even _think_ about going there!"

"I'm guessing Keller told you where we're going too?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"He sure did," He says. "And to me, and every other person at Hogwarts, Madam Puddifoot's is a place for dates."

"I'm aware of that, David."

"Then why don't you think you're going on a date with Tom?"

"Because I'm also going on a date with Keller and Serene!"

David has a slight look of shock on his face. "What?"

"Didn't tell you that, did he?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Tell me what?"

I sigh. "Tom and I are going on a double date with Keller and Serene."

He raises his eyebrows in shock. "Serene's willingly going on a date with Keller?"

I nod. "Yes."

"But she thinks he's a creep."

"I convinced her to do it."

"How did you manage that?"

"I told her that I've helped her with homework plenty of times," I explain. "And I agreed that I'd go on the date as well. That's where Tom comes in."

He shakes his head. "A double date isn't what we were shooting for."

"I know," I say. "That's why it's an outing, not a date."

He sighs. "Well, you're going to have to get him on another date. A _real_ date, Valerie, where the two of you are alone."

"Oh, please," I say, scoffing. "Tom and I will never be on a date alone, you'll have Keller follow and spy on us."

"That's true," He tells me. "But it doesn't matter. You've made big progress, Val, but we need more."

"How much more?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I think you know that answer to that yourself."

I do.

_A date with Tom Riddle._

* * *

**Sorry this chapter is a bit crummy, but it's necessary to put things in their place.**

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Hey guys,**

**It's torrential raining where I am which sucks big time. Hopefully the sun's shining where you are so that you aren't staring at a grey sky as you read this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"I can't believe you're making me do this," Serene complains as we wait outside for Keller and Tom.

I sigh as I look over at her. "How many times do I have to say 'I'm sorry?'"

"A lot more," She says, crossing her arms as she leans on the wall.

I sigh again. "You don't know how thankful I am that you're doing this."

"Yeah, yeah," She says, waving her hand. "But I'm not happy about it, you know."

"I'm aware," I say. "Just try not to be so glum when we get there, alright?"

"No promises," She says, shaking her head at me.

I sigh. "I didn't expect any..."

She turns her head as she flips her hair over her shoulder, and a few seconds later I hear her groan. "He's here."

I turn my head towards the direction she's looking at and I see Keller walking towards us, his head held high. There's no doubt he thinks he pulled a fast one on me. He did, but I get something out of this entire situation too. He seems to forget that.

"Hello, girls," He says smoothly as he stops in front of us. "My, don't you both look fetching this afternoon."

I raise my eyebrow at him. _Really? _That's how he's going to flirt? _Oh Merlin..._

Serene's probably thinking the same thing. "Afternoon, Keller," She says, I can hear a small hint of animosity in her voice.

"Good afternoon, Serene," He says, nodding to her. A red rose suddenly appears in his hand and he hands it to her with a wink and a smile.

"Uh, thank you," She says, taking the flower somewhat awkwardly. Her statement sounds so much like a question that I have to hold back my laughter, and I cross my arms and press my lips into a thin line, a smile still visible on my face.

Serene narrows her eyes to me and scowls slightly at my expression, only making me lose my composure and giggle a bit.

"So," She says, her eyes still narrowed towards me in a glare. "When's your date getting here, Valerie?"

"I don't know, he should be here soon," I say, shrugging. "I told him to come around one. What time is it now?"

"I believe it's half past one, I believe," Keller says.

My eyebrows furrow. That's odd, Tom's never late; he's usually the first one there and I've never heard of him taking up the habit of being fashionably late.

"Do you think he's already there, Valerie?" Serene asks. "Because we only got here ten minutes ago at the latest."

"Could be," I say, my eyebrows still furrowed. Perhaps he did go ahead, but my gut is telling me it's something else. My gut's hardly ever wrong.

"Well, I guess we'll know when we get there, now won't we?" Keller asks.

"Yeah," I say.

"Let's get going then, shall we?" He asked, and he holds his arm out for Serene to take.

She eyes it warily, sending me a sideways glance before finally locking her arm with his. "Come on, Val," She says as they start walking. "Don't get left behind."

"I won't," I say, walking behind them.

"I'm serious," She says, looking back at me. "Please don't, I don't fancy losing my best friend."

I know what she really means.

She doesn't fancy being alone with Keller.

* * *

"More tea, Serene?" Keller asks, holding up a teapot decorated with pink flowers.

"No thanks," She says, shaking her head. "I'm good."

"Alright," He says. "Anymore for you, Valerie?"

I take my eyes off the tacky and unbelievably frilly decorations of the tea shop and look towards him. "I'm fine, thanks." I'm actually surprised at how crowded the tea shop is. I've heard tons of girls talk about how they always want to come here on a date, and I always thought that was sweet. But then I stepped foot in this place and, well, the atmosphere alone is enough to send me running for the hills.

"How come your date isn't here yet, Val?" Serene asks me, raising an eyebrow. She's angry, I can tell. I told her I had a date and here I am sitting without one.

"I don't know," I say, shaking my head and shrugging. "I told him where we were going."

"Excuse me, ladies," Keller says, holding up his hand. "I have to use the lavatory."

Serene and I nod as he stands up and walks away, and Serene waits until he is out of earshot before she turns to me. "I thought you said you had a date!"

"I did!" I defend, throwing my hands up. "And I thought he'd show up!"

"Well, who did you even ask out?" She asks, her voice now higher in pitch.

Right, I haven't told her I asked Tom to come with me. I have to get to that. "Tom," I reply.

"Tom?" She asks, staring at me. "As in Tom Riddle?"

"Yes," I say, nodding once.

She sighs as she leans back in her chair. "You know, maybe you were right about him."

"Come again?"

"Tom Riddle," She says. "Maybe you were right when you said his charm was all an act."

My eyebrows furrow. I wasn't expecting that. If I remember correctly; Serene was the one who said Tom Riddle was good-looking the first day of school this year. That seemed to change relatively quickly. "I was?" I ask her, staring at her intently.

"Well, think about it," She says, crossing her arms. "What kind of guy just blows you off like that? I'm surprised you aren't furious."

_Oh, trust me, Serene, I am angry. I'm just not showing it. _If I hadn't had that potion this morning, I'd be livid. I knew something was up when Tom agreed to go on this date with me _that_ quickly; there wasn't even much hesitation involved on his part. For some reason, I thought that he would actually show up, but he knew as soon as I asked him that he wasn't going to come. That means he doesn't trust me, that means I haven't made any progress.

That means I'm basically back at square one.

I sigh as I look at Serene. "I don't know why he didn't show up," I say with a shrug. "I thought he would."

"Are you hurt by it?" She asks.

"No," I say. I'm more upset that I haven't got as far as I want to, Tom not coming is just icing on the cake. "Why?"

She shrugs. "You just seem a bit upset. I don't blame you though; it's probably not fun being stood up."

My eyebrows furrow. How would I seem upset? If Emily wasn't attracted to Tom, I would be glad that he didn't come. I'm not all that upset about it, so I don't know why she thinks like that. "I'm alright," I say, picking up my tea cup.

"Okay, well if you need to talk about it, I'm here."

"I thought you were mad at me."

"I was," She replies. "But then you got stood up by a guy you fancy."

I choke on my tea, and the next thing I know I'm coughing like mad. "W-What?" I finally ask as my coughing subsides.

"Well, it's obvious," She says. "You sit beside him every chance you get, you spend most of your free time with him, and you even thought of him as your first choice to be your date."

"He's the only guy I know well enough," I say quickly, somewhat defending myself. I may need to get Tom to trust me, but I can't stand the thought of Serene thinking I fancy him. She'll never let me live it down!

"That's rubbish, Val," She replies, shaking her head. "You know a fair few guys, Valerie, and normally anyone of them would be your first pick. Even Abraxas if it came right down to it."

"I don't fancy Tom," I say, shaking my head.

"It's really starting to look that way," She tells me.

"Looks can be deceiving," I retort.

She shakes her head. "Not always."

I'm about to reply when I see Keller walking towards us and I sigh as I take a sip of my tea. "Your date's back."

Serene turns her head and lets out a small groan as she sees Keller, and he sits beside her and flashes her a smile.

I can only sigh.

Because my mind's concentrated on how I'm officially back at square one.

* * *

"He stood her up?" Elizabeth asks, staring at me in disbelief.

"He sure did!" Serene exclaims.

"It's not that big of a deal," I say, throwing my hands up.

They both look at me like I'm mad. "Of course it is!" Elizabeth exclaims. "What makes him think he has the right to just blow you off like that?"

"You shouldn't hang around him anymore, Val," Serene says. "He's trouble."

I shake my head in disbelief as I stand up from my bed. "Wait a minute, weren't you two the ones who wanted me to stop accusing Tom of being trouble?"

"Yes..." Elizabeth says slowly. "But that was before he stood you up."

"Why does it make any difference?" I ask, staring at the both of them.

"Because you're our best friend and we're protective of you," Serene explains, crossing her arms as she sits on her bed.

"Especially when it comes to boys," Elizabeth adds in.

"It shouldn't make any difference now," I say, shaking my head. "You should have trusted me when I said Tom was trouble in the first place."

"We weren't thinking straight," Serene defends. "He's good-looking and charming, Val! He's not the first boy who I would've thought would blow off a girl, until now that is."

"And I was saying that for quite some time, Serene," I say. "But you didn't listen. Neither of you did!"

"Well, we're listening now," Elizabeth says. "And we don't think you should hang around Tom."

"It's strange that you even thought about becoming friends with him," Serene says. "You thought you were right for the longest time, and it turns out you were."

I shake my head. Unbelievable, my friends have completely turned their perspective around after one incident that proves me right. To be honest, if I could, I would never speak to Tom Riddle again, because I'm just as upset as Serene and Elizabeth are about this. But I have to continue talking to him, this is just a bump in the road, and it's one I have to overcome.

"Why are you guys _so_ upset about this anyways?" I ask. "It's not like it's affecting you!"

"Because we don't like it when people break our best friend's heart!" Elizabeth exclaims, throwing her hands up.

"Besides," Serene starts. "You fancy him and it's not fair that he did this to you."

I groan. "Again with the fancying thing?" I ask. "Look, Serene, I already told you this, I _don't_ fancy Tom."

"You shouldn't deny it, Val," Elizabeth says, shaking her head. "It's incredibly obvious."

"How, Liz?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"You sit beside him every chance you get, spend most of your free time with him, and chose him as your date for today," She explains.

"That's _exactly_ what I said," Serene states, crossing her arms.

I sigh. "Well, you're reading everything wrong." They are...sort of. I don't fancy Tom, but I'm trying to get him to date me. I completely understand their confusion, but that won't stop me from denying it. "I don't fancy Tom."

"Why are you even _trying_ to deny it?" Elizabeth asks me. Why am I trying to deny it? Because I'm still trying to convince myself that none of this is real. That and it's not the time to have those rumours floating around the school. Emily will hear them, and then she'll do something about them.

"Because it's not true," I reply simply.

"Or _maybe_ you just don't want to admit it to yourself," She says. "You've been acting complicated lately. I wouldn't put it past you to do something like that."

"_Acting complicated_?" I ask, staring at her in disbelief. "How have I been acting complicated?"

She sighs. "One minute you're trying to be his friend, the next you're telling us that you don't fancy him."

"That's not acting complicated!" I say. "That's just making sure people don't get the wrong idea."

"But then you turn around and defend him for standing you up!" Serene exclaims. "It's sort of complicated on our end!"

"_Sort of_ complicated?" Elizabeth starts. "It's _very_ complicated."

I sigh. "I don't fancy him."

Serene shakes her head. "It's really starting to look like you do, even the first years notice it."

My eyes widen slightly. The first years notice it? But they've only been here for at least three months; they don't know the full extent of my hatred towards Tom Riddle. How can they notice if I've been spending more time with him suddenly. "What do you mean?" I finally ask, staring at the two of them.

"Gossip spreads fast around here, Val," Elizabeth says. "You should know that by now."

"The first years knew within a week of being here that you and Tom didn't get along, and hadn't for some time," Serene explains. "It was only a matter of time before they started to notice your attitude change towards him."

"They even already think the two of you are dating," Elizabeth tells me. Oh no, if the first years think that, then Emily _definitely_ thinks that.

"They do?" I ask, trying to clarify.

She nods. "Yeah, they do at least. Everyone else thinks that you fancy him, I even heard some Hufflepuffs talking about it in the girl's room."

The _Hufflepuffs_ are talking about it? I'm in trouble. "What are they saying around the Common Room?" I ask. If the Slytherin gossip is anything like the Hufflepuff's, then I have to get out of square one quickly.

"The same thing," Serene shrugs. "They all think it's really odd that you suddenly decided to become friends with Tom, and everyone's come to the same conclusion."

"Which is?" I ask. I know what it is, but I'm clinging to the last, small hope that I'm wrong.

"You fancy Tom Riddle."

I sigh. "And _everyone's_ thinking that?" I ask, sitting down on my bed.

"Most people from what I've seen," Serene tells me. "The rumours really started swirling when you went to Hogsmeade with him."

"I don't understand why the population of Hogwarts even cares who I was at Hogsmeade with," I say.

"It's because you're a prefect," Elizabeth says. "Everyone pays attention to the prefects, that way they know who to avoid in the halls."

I let out a sigh. "So what do I do?" I ask. I'm really out of ideas now; I know Emily's most likely heard these rumours. I'm desperate now.

"First of all," Serene says. "Stop denying it, it isn't helping your case."

"Anything else?" I ask, sighing.

"Second of all," She says. "Stay away from Tom. He stood you up, you don't need that."

"Plus," Elizabeth starts. "If you're _that_ upset about the rumours, staying away from him will help them fade."

"Exactly," Serene states. "See? It's in your best interest to stay away from him."

I can't help but think it's a bit ironic that my friends are trying to keep me away from Tom Riddle, while I'm trying to keep him away from Emily.

Things just got a bit more complicated.

* * *

**Sorry it's a bit shorter than usual, this rainy day has got me down.**

**Please review!**

**PS. I've got a question; who's your favourite OC I've added into the story so far, and why?**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Morning guys! It's probably not morning where some of you are, but if it is, then awesome.**

**Thanks for answering my question that I asked in that last chapter! It means a lot knowing who's working out the best for the story.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.**

* * *

"_Tom,_" I whisper harshly as I spot him by a bookshelf in the library.

Sighing, I quickly reach into my bag and pull out a potion phial. It's my last phial; I'll have to have David get me more. Taking the cork off the top, I bring the glass phial to my lips and quickly down the potion. Strange, I'm not getting a calm feeling now. I'm probably just too used to it. I stuff the empty phial into my bag and adjust the bag over my shoulder, my eyes locked onto Tom.

I quickly walk over to him, determination coursing through my veins. I'm going to find out why he stood me up yesterday, but I already have a pretty good idea as to why. I just have to confirm it, and the only one who can confirm it is him. I stop behind him and tap on his shoulder, crossing my arms as I wait for him to turn around. He looks up from the book he's holding and turns his head, smirking when he sees my face.

"Good morning, Valerie," He says, turning his entire body towards me. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Where were you?" I ask, staring at him. "You didn't show up at Madam Puddifoot's!"

"Oh, yes," He says, placing the book back on the shelf. "I unfortunately got a bit busy and I couldn't find the time to make it."

"You could've told me," I say, shaking my head. "You _should've_ told me instead of blowing me off."

"You seem to be taking it quite well," He says. "You aren't screaming at me."

_That's because I have a potion that controls my temper._ "That's not the point," I say. "The point is that you should've told me that you couldn't make it instead of standing me up!"

"Do you want me to be honest with you?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," I say with a nod. "I think that would be _very_ helpful to the both of us."

He looks at me for a moment before starting. "There have been rumours going around the school."

"Oh?"

"Yes, there are."

"About?" I ask. Suddenly it hits me; he's heard the rumours about me fancying him. _Oh Merlin, please no! _That's only going to make things a thousand times more complicated then they need to be. Maybe I'm wrong though, maybe he's thinking of entirely different rumours.

He smirks at me, and I know I'm in trouble. "They're about you," He says, taking a step closer to me. "Fancying me."

Normally people want to be right, but right now I wish I wasn't. I take a small step backwards, trying to create some distance between me and Tom, and I feel my back press up against the bookshelf behind me._ Damn, I've got nowhere to go. _Tom continues to smirk at me as he takes another step closer to me, and I wish there was a long hallway behind me so that I could bolt.

"And I have to wonder," Tom says, looking down at me. "Are they true?"

I've never felt intimidated by Tom before, but right now I feel like I'm the mouse and he's the giant. I don't want to say that I fancy him, but I can't just outright deny it in front of him or else I screw up the entire plan. I'm already back at square one, and I don't think I can get any lower. But if I can, I don't even want to think about the consequences.

"Uh," I start. "Do _you_ think they are?"

"I have to wonder," He says, his eyes locked onto me. "Your attitude towards me has completely changed in only two months. Perhaps I was right that day when I asked you the very question I'm asking you now. Do you remember?"

My mind goes back to that day in the Great Hall, and I remember everything. "Yes."

"Then what's your answer?"

I have two options. Option one, keep to the truth and tell him I don't fancy him, or option two, swallow my pride and lie to him. Option one saves my pride, but ruins everything. Option two, destroys my pride, but can get me out of square one. I'm no fool; I know what I have to do.

"Alright," I say, trying to rid myself of all hesitation. I _have_ to do this. "Yes, Tom, I _do_ fancy you."

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. That was not the answer he was expecting, and if I was watching from another person's point of view, it wouldn't be mine either.

Gaining back his composure, he smirks at me once more. "Why am I not surprised? I knew there was an explanation to your behaviour."

"Yeah," I say, still looking up at him. I don't know what else to say. What do you say when you've just lied to someone about fancying them?

"Well, then I suppose I have to make it up to you, now don't I?" He asks, tilting his head.

"Make what up to me?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing.

"That date that I missed," He says, acting as if it were the simplest thing on Earth.

"You know," I say. "You still haven't told me why you miss that."

He raises his eyebrow and nods to me slightly. "That's right."

"Well," I say, trying to make things less awkward for me. "Out with it then."

He smirks at me. "I was trying to determine whether or not these rumours that have been spreading like wildfire are true or not. I've got my answer."

"So you didn't show up just so that you could see my reaction and determine whether or not I fancied you?" I ask, trying to clarify.

"Yes," He says simply, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets.

I sigh. I knew he was keeping tabs on my reactions. "Well played, Tom."

He tilts his head slightly, smirking at me. "So when shall our date be? I still have to make up for yesterdays rudeness."

"Oh," I say. "Right, you still have to do that." Suddenly what he's said clicks in my mind, and my eyes widen. "Wait, you want to go on a date with me?"

"I imagine it would be an appropriate way to make up for my absence yesterday," He says.

"Right, okay," I say nodding. "Well, my brother's Quidditch match is tomorrow, and I promised him I'd be there. Shall we go together?"

"Quidditch matches aren't really my ideal dating location," He says. "But I suppose it's always nice to try something new."

"Great," I say. "And maybe afterwards we could go to the Three Broomsticks for a few butterbeers."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "I thought you would've wanted to go back to Madam Puddifoot's."

"Oh no," I say, shaking my head. "It's not really my style."

"I see."

"Anyways, do you want to meet me by the Quidditch pitch at one? Just before the game starts?"

"Of course," He says. "That sound alright."

"Perfect," I say, stepping sideways. "Anyway, I've got to get going. I'll see you later, Tom."

He smirks at me. "Goodbye, Valerie."

* * *

"David!" I exclaim as I see him outside sitting on a bench.

I quickly start towards the bench as he looks up, and he closes the book in his lap. "Hey, Valerie."

"David," I say, adjusting my bag over my shoulder as I stop in front of him. "You'll never guess what happened!"

He stands up from his seat and stuffs his book into his bag. "What?"

"I got a date with Tom!"

He immediately looks up from his bag and stares at me, trying to figure out whether I'm lying or not. "You're kidding," He says.

I shake my head quickly.

He looks at me in shock. "You got a date?"

I nod my head. "Yes."

"Then he must have really liked you on that date yesterday!" He says, adjusting his bag over his shoulder as he looks at me.

"Actually," I begin. He's not going to like this when I tell him. He's not going to like it one bit. "He didn't come yesterday."

David's face immediately drops. "What happened?"

"He, well, uh...He stood me up."

A look of anger crosses his face. "He _what_?"

"But David," I say. "It all worked out! He thinks I fancy him and we're going a date tomorrow!"

"Still, what makes him think he's got the right to just blow you off?"

"He said he was hearing rumours about me fancying him around school and he wanted to see if they were true or not."

"How? By being a git?"

"By seeing how I would react to him not being there."

David's face changes expressions, but it's still unreadable to me. "How _did_ you react?" He asks.

"Fine," I say with a shrug. "Sure, I was a bit angry, but I didn't yell at him or anything. That potion you give me really works."

"Uh, yeah," He says, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "It does."

I raise an eyebrow at him. He looks like he's hiding something, something that he doesn't want me to know. "David," I say, crossing my arms. "What's wrong?"

"What?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" I ask again, looking at him expectantly.

"Nothing's wrong," He says, shaking his head. "Why do you assume something's wrong?"

"David," I say. "I'm not daft. There's something that you're not telling me. What's up?"

"Nothing's up!" He says, throwing his hands up "Anyways, I've got to go meet Marie."

"No," I say, stepping in front of him as he tries to walk past me. "Not until you tell me what you're hiding from me."

"I'm not hiding anything, Val," He says. "I think you're a bit para-"

"_Do not_ call me paranoid," I say, cutting him off. "I'm not paranoid, you're just secretive."

"I'm not keeping anything from you, Valerie," He says, shaking his head as he tries to walk past me. "I swear."

"You're a terrible liar, David," I say, shaking my head as I step in front of him every time he tries to walk past.

He sighs in exasperation. "If I tell you will you let me go?"

"Yes."

"Fine," He says. He sighs as he quickly glances both ways before leaning down to my level. "You know those potions I gave you yesterday when you came back from Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah, why?"

"They're water."

My eyes widen "They're _what_?"

"Water," He repeats.

"You've been giving me _water_?" I ask, getting angry that my own brother pulled a fast one on me.

"Only for the past two weeks," He says, raising his hands in defense.

"_Two weeks_?" I ask, staring at him in disbelief. "Why have you been giving me _water_ for _two weeks_?"

He sighs. "Because I ran out of ingredients and I'm not going to be able to get my hands on anymore."

"Well, where were you getting it?" I ask.

"There was this guy in Hogsmeade that was illegally selling potion ingredients at a discounted price," He explains to me. "Unfortunately, the Aurors caught up with him and he's going to be in Azkaban for the next five years."

"_Five years_?" I exclaim. "Just for selling potion ingredients?"

"Potion ingredients that are exotic and high in demand," He corrects me.

I sigh. "So my brother's been giving me water _and_ he shops at the black market? I obviously have some very _trustworthy_ relatives!"

"But, hey, you didn't know I was giving you water because you don't need the potion anymore," He says.

"What do you mean?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, normally by now you would be screaming and would've probably hit me as well," He explains. "But you haven't, which means you've successfully trained yourself to keep a hold on your temper!"

I sigh. I have, haven't I? These past two days prove it; I've learned to control my temper. A lot of things have happened that usually set me off, but I haven't. I don't need the potion anymore, and that's what kind of scares me. I've changed so much in two months. I'm really going through with this whole plan, aren't I?

"That explains why I wasn't feeling different when I drank it," I say, pulling a phial out of my bag. "How did you get the water to taste like the potion anyways?"

"A mixture of green apple and lily petals," He tells me. "I'm just as surprises as you are that it worked."

I sigh. "I feel kind of stupid now. My brother's been giving me a placebo for two weeks and I didn't even notice it!"

"Don't feel stupid," He says, shrugging. "I'm just smarter than you."

I scoff and roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"So," He asks. "Before I leave, where are you and Tom going on your date tomorrow?"

"The Quidditch match and then to the Three Broomsticks," I tell him.

"Perfect," He says, nodding once.

I sigh. "You're going to have Keller follow us, aren't you?"

He nods. "I can't be too careful. Anyways, good luck tomorrow," He says, and then he walks past me.

"Thank you," I call after him before sighing. "I'll need it."

* * *

**It's a shorter chapter but I hope it's interesting enough to suffice.**

**Please leave a review before you go! They're gladly appreciated!**


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